SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

December 3 - 9, 2001

WEATHER SUMMARY

Well above normal temperatures dominated the period with daytime highs in the 70's and lower 80's. A brief freeze was observed on Tuesday morning when the mercury fell into the upper 20's across the Piedmont to the lower 40's near the coast. Southerly winds on Saturday pushed warm, moist air into the eastern half of the state and helped relieve dry conditions with a few scattered showers. Cloudy skies returned on Sunday in advance of developing low pressure just ahead of an approaching cold front. For the period, the state average temperature was ten degrees above normal.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

The highest temperature was 83 degrees at Orangeburg and Jamestown on December 8. The lowest temperature was 27 degrees at Union on the morning of December 4. The heaviest 24 hour rainfall reported was 0.48" at Beaufort ending at 7:00 a.m. on December 9. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.0"

                     Precipitation
               Period    2001  Deviation*            Temperature
Location        Total   Total   From Avg.        Maximum    Minimum	
Greer            0.00   38.15      10.2B            73         35                         	              		
Columbia         0.00   26.80      20.5B            79         32
Florence         0.00   30.41      11.2B            79         40	        
Charleston       0.01   38.29      10.9B            80         46
N Myrtle Beach   0.01   37.28      10.2B            77         45
Augusta, Ga.     0.00   32.57       9.6B            79         34 
*A=Above, B=Below                                                                       

                                                       
                                                                                                                                                                                            

Note: Weekly rainfall amounts are for the prior 24-hrs ending 7 am Monday through ending 7 am Sunday.

SOIL

4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 63 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF

South Carolina river stages were below normal.
Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 63 degrees.