The period started with high-pressure building into the region on Monday, December 21, with dry and warm weather through the middle of the week. Morning lows ranged from the low 30s to the mid-40s through midweek, with the daytime highs slowly climbing into the mid- to upper-50s to the mid-60s by Wednesday. A weak cold front crossed the area on Tuesday, bringing another push of dry air into the Southeast, ahead of the main weather story for the period.
On Thursday, December 24, morning temperatures ranged from the mid-30s in the Upstate to the 50s at the coast. High temperatures were up to ten degrees warmer than normal. The National Weather Service (NWS) stations at the Charleston International Airport and Beaufort MCAS reported 72 degrees. During the late afternoon and early evening, a strong upper disturbance and cold front crossed the area, accompanied by severe weather, including heavy rain and strong winds. The storms caused downed trees and powerlines in Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties. Construction scaffolding was blown into the roadway near Beaufort, shutting down Highway 21 for about an hour. An NWS storm survey determined that straight-line winds, with estimated wind gusts of 60 to 65 mph, caused damage to structures in interior portions of Horry County.
Some of the season's coldest air arrived on Friday, December 25, making it one of the coldest Christmases at many locations in the past five years. Daytime temperatures struggled to reach the 40s, and some stations reported highs in the upper 20s and low 30s for the day. There were reports of snow flurries near Seneca and even reports of flurries in Islandton and at the Charleston International Airport. A small band of snow showers produced a dusting on elevated surfaces and the ground in Fort Mill and Rock Hill. Behind the front, strong winds blew across the Midlands and Pee Dee with gusts up to 40 mph, including a 42-mph-wind gust reported by a USGS site atop the Lake Murray Towers.
A benign, but cool, weather pattern settled into the region for the rest of the holiday weekend. Minimum temperatures dropped into the lower 20s and teens, with maximums reported in the 40s and 50s through 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 | 1.10 | 60.51 | 17.0 |
Greer Airport | 0.85 | 73.68 | 27.0 |
Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.72 | 58.74 | 17.5 |
Columbia Metro Airport | 0.91 | 55.46 | 11.3 |
Orangeburg Airport | 1.01 | 43.92 | -2.5 |
Augusta, GA Airport | 1.05 | 55.40 | 12.0 |
Florence Airport | 1.23 | 62.00 | 19.5 |
North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.78 | 54.32 | 2.7 |
Charleston Air Force Base | 0.73 | 53.62 | 3.0 |
Savannah, GA Airport | 0.51 | 50.30 | 2.7 |
*Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 43 degrees. Columbia: 49 degrees. Barnwell: 40 degrees. Mullins: 49 degrees.
During the period, widespread totals of at least half an inch of rain fell across the Palmetto State. Higher amounts, of two or more inches, fell across Oconee and Pickens counties in the Upstate and in Georgetown and Horry counties in the Pee Dee. Because of the additional rain, streamflow gauges across the state remained at values that were near or slightly above normal. Even with the pockets of heavier rainfall, the river heights in the state's river basins remained below flood stage. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, D0 (abnormally dry) conditions persisted in the middle to lower Savannah and coastal areas of the Lowcountry, despite some recent rains.