Drier conditions filtered back into the area on Monday, December 12, with a return of sunshine for the start of the period. Overnight temperatures were in the mid-20s across much of the state and locations near the coast reported near-freezing low temperatures. The sun helped warm temperatures to the low to mid-50s by late afternoon. The cold front pushed well offshore, and with high pressure behind the front on Tuesday, high temperatures were slightly cooler, with daytime temperatures in the upper 40s to mid-50s.
Clouds and rain moved back into the region by Wednesday, ahead of a cold front and low-pressure system moving through the central US. High temps were between ten and fifteen degrees below normal in portions of the Midlands and Upstate, as highs struggled to reach 50 degrees. Closer to the coast, temperatures reached the low 60s, including 64 degrees measured at Charleston National Weather Service (NWS) Office. The low pressure moved toward the northeast Thursday, and the rain tapered off during the day. The cold front pushed through by the late afternoon, and another dry high-pressure system moved in behind the front.
Temperatures returned to near normal conditions on Friday, with overnight lows from the mid-30s to lower 40s and maximum temperatures from the mid-50s to low-60s. Increasing cloudiness on Saturday was due to a reinforcing cold front, which ushered in even colder and drier air as it passed through the region. Temperatures on Sunday morning dropped into the low to mid-20s across much of the state, including 24 degrees recorded at the NWS stations near Cedar Creek and the Rock Hill York County Airport.
(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 | 2.28 | 37.21 | -7.3 |
| Greer Airport | 2.53 | 54.17 | 6.5 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.58 | 42.15 | 0.1 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.70 | 39.69 | -3.9 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.38M | 48.40M | -0.4M |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.94 | 46.70 | 4.4 |
| Florence Airport | 0.89 | 37.98 | -5.7 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.19 | 44.55 | -1.9 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.37 | 48.85 | -1.4 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.12 | 35.25 | -10.7 |
| *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: 52 degrees. Barnwell: 56 degrees. Mullins: 45 degrees.
Additional rain fell across the northern two-thirds of the state during the period, with the highest amounts, once again, falling in the northern portions of the state, especially in the headwaters of the Santee River. Parts of Anderson, Greenwood, Greenville, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties reported between two and three inches of rain. A few CoCoRaHS observers in these counties recorded 24-hour totals of over three inches of rain ending on Thursday morning. Much of the Lowcountry and Midlands recorded between half an inch and an inch and a half. Locations south and east of the Interstate 20 corridor recorded less than half an inch of rain. On the latest United States Drought Monitor (USDM), severe drought (D2) was observed in parts of Abbeville, Anderson, and McCormick counties. 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 in the state portion of headwaters of the Pee Dee, Santee, and Savannah watersheds continued to show some improvements due to recent rainfall. A few gauges measured flows slightly above to well above average, including the Saluda River near Columbia and some of the smaller tributaries of the Savannah River. However, some gauges in the lower Pee Dee and Savannah River basins reported below-normal stream flows, with continued well below-normal flows on the Coosawhatchie River near Hampton and at the gauge on the Little Pee Dee River near Galivants Ferry. The river heights on the Congaree River near Columbia and the Santee River at Jamestown reached minor flood stages during the period. Elsewhere, however, the river heights on all the state’s rivers were observed below the flood stage.
