Conditions were warm and dry at the start of the week, with a weak high-pressure building over the area. High temperatures ranged from the upper 50s in the Upstate to the upper 60s across the Midlands and Coastal Plain. Overnight dense fog and low clouds caused visibility to drop to less than a quarter of a mile at many locations in the Midlands and Upstate at the beginning of the week. The low clouds and fog were slow to burn off each morning, finally clearing by late morning.
Despite increasing rain chances on Wednesday, December 18, as a strong front pushed through the area overnight and into Thursday, rain was not widespread. Only a few portions of the state recorded more than a quarter of an inch of rain. The cold front pushed offshore late Thursday, and behind the front, a high pressure centered over the Midwest funneled cool air into the region. High temperatures on Friday were in the upper 50s to low 60s, before another surge of cold air moved into the region overnight. With a strong high pressure to the north, temperatures were up to fifteen degrees below normal over the weekend. The National Weather Service station at the Greenville Spartanburg International Airport reported a high temperature of 43 degrees, and the high temperature was 52 degrees at the Charleston International Airport on Sunday.
(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 | 0.03 | 51.71 | 6.7 |
| Greer Airport | 0.08 | 54.36 | 6.0 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.03 | 50.41 | 7.9 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.23 | 50.58 | 6.5 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.01 | 51.71 | 2.4 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.12 | 47.73 | 4.9 |
| Florence Airport | 0.06 | 46.02 | 1.8 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.33 | 45.39 | -2.3 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.01 | 50.64 | -0.9 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.19 | 54.97 | 7.8 |
| *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: 54 degrees. Barnwell: 48 degrees. Mullins: 43 degrees.
Most of the state recorded less than a quarter of an inch during the period, with some isolated pockets of higher rainfall totals in portions of the Coastal Plain and the Midlands, where locations measured up to an inch of rain. The U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, December 17, showed improvements in the Upstate with the removal of moderate drought (D1) designations; however, abnormally dry (D0) conditions expanded into the Lowcountry due to the lack of rainfall during the previous periods.
Despite the limited rain falling across the state during the period, the 14-day average streamflow values continued to report within normal ranges, with the gauge on the Santee River near Jamestown recording flows above normal. With the continued lack of rainfall during the past periods, the values at gauges in the Pee Dee River basin dropped to below-normal values. The river height levels along the river and the tidal gauges remained below the flood stage during the period.
