Rain chances remained low on Monday, November 20, as a low-pressure system developed over the central United States. Isolated and scattered showers fell through the evening. High temperatures were slightly above normal, with highs in the mid-60s, and overnight lows were up to ten degrees above normal, with temperatures in the upper 40s.
A series of fronts pushed through the state during the rest of the period. An approaching cold front increased rain chances and the potential for severe weather on Tuesday afternoon. High temperatures in the Upstate on Tuesday were up to ten degrees cooler than normal, as maximum temperatures struggled to reach the mid-50s, while above-normal temperatures were observed elsewhere. Despite the cool, stable air, a line of thunderstorms formed along a warm front and pushed through the Upstate, producing a few wind gusts up to 40 mph and a brief and weak tornado. An EF0 tornado, with peak winds estimated around 75 mph, touched down on Tuesday night in southwest Chester County, near Leeds, causing minimal tree damage.
Lingering showers and storms were observed as the first cold front moved through the state on Wednesday, November 22. There were reports of hail, and possibly graupel, in portions of Greenville and Spartanburg counties, while pea-sized hail was reported near Knightsville in Dorchester County. Still, conditions dried out by the evening hours thanks to a second, reinforcing cold front. The cold front had moved well offshore by Thanksgiving morning, with lingering high clouds and slightly cooler temperatures in its wake. On Friday, a low-pressure system moved across south Florida and into the Atlantic, increasing light rain chances in the Lowcountry during the morning but drying out for the rest of the day.
Another cold front dropped through the area on Saturday, and high pressure to the north of the region provided a cold air damming event, with cooler high temperatures up to ten degrees below normal in the upper 50s to low-60s. The Charleston Harbor Tidal Gauge recorded a high astronomical tide of 7.65 feet MLLW on Sunday morning, and higher tides lingered into the beginning of the new work week. The higher tides caused shallow to moderate flooding in low-lying coastal areas. Another low pressure moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday afternoon, and light rain fell across most of the state during the afternoon and evening. Under cloudy skies, high temperatures were in the low to mid-50s
(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 | 0.66 | 42.10 | 0.7 |
| Greer Airport | 0.83 | 47.02 | 2.5 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 2.40 | 39.86 | 0.3 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 2.65 | 50.84 | 9.7 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 1.10M | 54.19M | 7.9 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 1.06 | 58.30 | 18.4 |
| Florence Airport | 1.38 | 42.89 | 1.4 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.36 | 38.57 | -6.4 | Charleston Air Force Base | 1.48 | 47.74 | -1.1 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.88 | 37.39 | -7.2 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 50 degrees. Columbia: 58 degrees. Barnwell: 52 degrees. Mullins: 48 degrees.
All portions of the state recorded at least half an inch of rain during the seven days, with some locations in the Midlands recording more than two inches. Observers in Kershaw, Lexington, Richland, and York counties reported up to three inches of rain, with most precipitation falling from Tuesday through Wednesday. Some locations in the Upstate saw between an inch and half an inch of rainfall; more rain than they measured during the entire month of October. However, the precipitation fell after the cutoff for the US Drought Monitor (USDM), and the map released on November 23 showed the continued degradation of conditions across the state from insufficient rainfall during the previous period. The spatial extent of extreme (D3) conditions expanded slightly across the Upstate and Laurens County based on current precipitation deficits and other indicators, including soil moisture and streamflow. Moderate drought (D1) conditions were introduced into coastal portions of the Lowcountry.
With precipitation falling during the period, the 14-day average streamflow values showed some flow improvement, especially in portions of the Broad, Catawba, Pee Dee, Lynches, and Saluda river basins which dropped to much below-normal values. However, lingering dry conditions and limited rainfall caused flows to rise, but the 14-day average streamflow values were still below the normal range. While the river height gauges across the state reported levels below flood stage, tidal gauges reached minor and moderate heights on Saturday and Sunday due to astronomically high tides.
