The main story for the period was the colder than the average maximum and minimum temperatures, which ranged from five to twenty degrees below typical values for the middle of November.
A dry high pressure with cold air moved into the region on Monday, November 14, in the wake of a strong cold front that pushed through on Sunday. Freezing rain was observed in some of the higher elevations overnight as light rain pushed through the state. A cold air damming event set up on Tuesday, providing damp and cold conditions over the Upstate and most of the Midlands. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) recorded a high of 44 degrees. The station at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport measured a maximum of 53 degrees. Locations outside the wedge saw daytime temperatures soar into the 70s, with the NWS station at the Charleston International Airport recording a high of 77 degrees.
By Wednesday, the low-pressure system that formed along the Florida Panhandle, contributing to the wedge, moved offshore, and the clouds decreased throughout the day. Another cold Arctic air mass moved into the region and would dominate the weather pattern through the weekend. The season’s most frigid temperatures occurred on Thursday morning, with overnight temperatures dropping into the low 20s in the Upstate to near freezing at the coast. High temperatures statewide on Thursday and Friday were in the upper 40s to lower 50s.
A cold front pushed through the state on Saturday, bringing a reinforcing shot of cold air into the Southeast. Cloud cover increased throughout the day, with high temperatures pushing into the lower 60s, the highest recorded during the period. On Sunday, an Arctic high-pressure system entered the central US. Some locations’ temperatures struggled to climb out of the 40s, with coastal stations only reaching the lower 50s for highs. The cold air would influence the weather during the first part of the work week.
(Note: The highest and lowest official temperatures and highest precipitation totals provided below are based on observations from the National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer network and the National Weather Service's Forecast Offices.)| Weekly* | Since Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Airport | 0.38 | 29.55 | -11.1 |
| Greer Airport | 0.47 | 47.00 | 3.2 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.35 | 36.49 | -2.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.02 | 36.60 | -4.0 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.06 | 46.74s | 0.2s |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.03 | 43.00 | 3.7 |
| Florence Airport | 0.20 | 35.86 | -5.1 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.62 | 43.79 | -0.5 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.21 | 47.84 | -0.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.06 | 34.73 | -9.3 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 58 degrees. Barnwell: 51 degrees. Mullins: 42 degrees.
Most of the rain fell in the Upstate and along the coast, with over half an inch measured north of the Interstate 85 corridor and in Colleton and Horry counties. Some CoCoRaHS observers in these areas reported between an inch to an inch and a half of rain. The rain eased severe drought (D2) conditions in parts of Anderson, Greenville, and Laurens counties. However, the rest of the state remained dry, recording less than a quarter of an inch of precipitation. On the latest United States Drought Monitor, moderate drought (D1) and abnormally dry (D0) conditions persisted along the Savannah River and in the Pee Dee region.
Despite the lack of statewide precipitation, the 14-day averages for stream flows at many gauges across the four major watersheds remained near normal. However, some gauges that reported average streamflow values in the Pee Dee and Savannah River basins were on the lower side of normal conditions. With most of the rain falling in the Upstate, some flows improved slightly, though a couple of small tributaries were still reporting flows below normal. Portions of the ACE and lower Savannah had gauges reporting below-normal stream flows. The river heights on all the state’s rivers were observed below the flood stage.
