On Monday, November 21, the high pressure still controlled the weather pattern and provided cool, dry air over the Southeast, with temperatures up to fifteen degrees below normal. Low temperatures Monday morning dropped into the mid-20s and only reached the mid-50s for high temperatures. A weak trough along the coast contributed to increasing cloudiness throughout Tuesday. Light scattered showers formed in portions of the Pee Dee region, and some CoCoRaHS observers recorded a quarter of an inch of rain. While overnight temperatures were still cold, in the upper 20s and lower 30s, daytime temperatures were closer to normal for the end of November, with highs in the low to mid-60s. Temperatures would slowly warm up through the rest of the week.
The trough shifted to the east by Wednesday morning, lingering showers moved out of the area, and some dry air returned to the region. Under sunny skies, highs reached the mid to upper 60s. The Charleston Harbor Tidal Gauge recorded high astronomical tides ranging between 7.02 feet and 7.72 feet MLLW starting on Wednesday and lasting through the remainder of the period. The higher tides caused shallow to moderate flooding in low-lying coastal areas and closed roads in the Charleston area due to saltwater flooding.
High pressure shifted to the east on Thanksgiving, leading to onshore flow and increased moisture across the region along a stationary front near the coast. Low-level clouds kept temperatures slightly cooler than Wednesday, and scattered showers in portions of the Midlands and Upstate produced up to three-quarters of an inch in localized areas. By Friday morning, a weak area of low pressure formed along the South Carolina coast and quickly moved off to the northeast, causing the rain to taper off by Friday afternoon. High pressure provided warmer and dry weather on Saturday before a cold front approached the region late in the day. High temperatures topped out in the upper 60s across the state. The cold front cleared the state by late Sunday morning, and skies began to clear. High pressure and drier air started to build back into the region, and temperatures quickly rose into the mid to upper 70s.
(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 | 0.98 | 30.53 | -11.0 |
| Greer Airport | 0.95 | 47.95 | 3.3 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.98 | 38.47 | -1.2 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.45 | 37.05 | -4.2 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.04 | 46.78s | 0.2s |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.48 | 43.48 | 3.5 |
| Florence Airport | 0.37 | 36.23 | -5.4 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.37 | 44.16 | -0.9 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.20 | 48.25 | -0.6 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.34 | 35.07 | -9.6 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 53 degrees. Columbia: 58 degrees. Barnwell: 55 degrees. Mullins: 58 degrees.
Most of the rain recorded during the period fell north and west of the Interstate 20 corridor, with widespread amounts of over half an inch measured in this area. A swath of higher rainfall was reported along the Fall Line, with some locations reporting up to two inches of rain. The rest of the state reported less than half an inch, though a portion of Horry County saw slightly higher amounts. 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.
The 14-day averages for stream flows at many gauges across the four major watersheds remained near normal in areas that received rainfall. 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 north of the Fall Line, some flows improved slightly, though a few small tributaries reported flows below normal. Portions of the ACE, Pee Dee, 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.
