SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

The first half of the week was wet and gray. Temperatures ranged between the mid-40's and mid-50's. On Friday a much colder air mass dropped southeastward and just in time for the holidays. Christmas morning Saturday was breezy and freezing. There were public reports of snow flurries in the Pee Dee region. Daytime high temperatures struggled to reach 40 degrees. An even colder morning was observed on Sunday with a few sites reporting lows in the middle teens. All day sunshine and calming winds allowed a slight warmup into the upper 50's by late afternoon Sunday. Statewide temperatures for the period averaged three degrees below normal.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

The maximum observed temperature was 60 degrees on December 23 at Allendale. The minimum observed temperature was 14 degrees at Blackville on the morning of December 26. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.00" at Beaufort ending at 7:00 am on December 23. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.6".

                  Precipitation
                 Period     1999       Deviation*         Temperature
Location         Total      Total      From Avg.         Maximum Minimum   
Greer             0.75       35.9       14.7B              59        22
Charlotte, NC     0.61       34.9        7.6B              55        21
Columbia          0.82       30.0       19.3B              59        21            
Florence FAA      0.07       39.4        4.0B              56        20           
Blackville        0.22       38.1        8.2B              57        14
Augusta, GA       0.29       36.7        7.3B              58        18
Beaufort          1.19       49.9        1.0B              NA        NA
Charleston          NA         NA          NA              NA        NA
Myrtle Beach      1.08       65.1       13.2A              NA        NA 

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 temperatures: Clemson 45 degrees. Columbia 48 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF

Most South Carolina rivers are near normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 52 degrees.