On Monday, November 25, the air mass across the region continued to moderate. Despite morning temperatures in the upper 30s to mid-40s, maximum temperatures rose to the low 70s, up to fifteen degrees above normal. On Tuesday, a weak cold front moved through the state, bringing scattered showers across parts of the Upstate. High temperatures were still above normal on Tuesday, but a cooler air mass filtered behind the cold front Tuesday evening.
Patchy, dense fog and low stratus clouds developed near and south of a weak stationary front, slowly sagging southward through the Lowcountry on Wednesday morning. High pressure kept the region dry that afternoon, with light winds and near-normal temperatures. Conditions were mild and warm on Thanksgiving, ahead of a strong cold front, with temperatures reaching the the70s. As the front pushed through the region, it produced unsettled weather, including a few strong thunderstorms and gusty winds up to 30 mph.
Behind the cold front, high pressure built into the Southeast, and a drier and colder air mass lingered for the remainder of the period. Friday morning temperatures dropped into the upper 20s to mid-30s, and high temperatures were up to ten degrees below normal, with temperatures reaching the mid-50s. Freeze watches and warnings were issued for portions of the state on Saturday morning. With most of the state recording temperatures below 32 degrees, the growing season ended with one of the latest first freezes on record at some locations, including the National Weather Service (NWS) site at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, which observed a low of 27 degrees. The station's latest first freeze on record is December 10, 1978. Maximum temperatures were up to fifteen degrees below normal, with highs in the low 50s. The cold weather persisted on Sunday, December 1, the first day of climatological winter.
(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 | 0.48 | 48.62 | 6.6 |
| Greer Airport | 0.20 | 50.44 | 5.2 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.18 | 48.01 | 7.9 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.03 | 49.25 | 7.6 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.00 | 50.89 | 4.1 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.03 | 46.60 | 6.3 |
| Florence Airport | Trace | 44.96 | 3.0 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | Trace | 44.84 | -0.6 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.03 | 50.26 | 1.0 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.07 | 54.56 | 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: Not Available. Columbia: 56 degrees. Barnwell: 49 degrees. Mullins: 46 degrees.
Most of the state recorded less than a quarter of an inch of rain, with many locations across the Coastal Plain reporting less than a tenth of an inch of rain. Some locations north of the Interstate 85 corridor measured up to half an inch of rain from the cold front that passed through the region late Wednesday and into Thursday. The U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, November 28, showed no changes in the drought designations despite the lack of rainfall during the current and previous periods.
The 14-day average streamflow values at most gauges across the ACE Basin and Lower Savannah River watershed continued to report above average; however, due to the lack of rainfall during the past two periods, the values in the Upstate and headwaters of the Pee Dee, Santee, and Savannah basins had dropped to below normal values. Statewide, the river and tidal height levels were below the action stage during the period.
