On Monday, January 7, the southerly flow around an area of high pressure helped support the pattern for the continued above-normal temperatures across the Palmetto State. The observed minimum temperatures in many locations were the same as the normal high temperatures for this time of year. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport reported a low temperature of 45 degrees, which was 13 degrees above normal, and at the coast, the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand Airport recorded a low temperature of 45 degrees, nine degrees above normal. The high temperatures were close to 15 degrees above normal in the Midlands as multiple stations reported maximum temperatures near 70 degrees. By Tuesday, January 8, the high pressure shifted offshore as a cold front approached the region. Breezy conditions with sustained winds of at least 15 mph, with occasional wind gusts up to 30 mph, were observed at some of the airport stations. The high temperatures across the region reached the mid-70's with the NWS stations at Beaufort, Charleston and Myrtle Beach all reporting a maximum temperature of 73 degrees. The NWS station in Caesars Head reported a high temperature of 60 degrees, which is the second warmest January 8 during the 51-year record at the station
By the morning of Wednesday, January 9, the cold front had pushed through the state, bringing a change to the weather pattern. Northerly flow around an area of high pressure to the northwest directed dry and cool air into the region that would last through Friday. Under mainly clear skies, temperatures were about ten degrees cooler than Tuesday, as some of the same stations that had highs in the mid-70's reported highs in the lower 60's. The breezy conditions continued behind the front, and the NWS stations in Anderson, Columbia, Greenwood and Orangeburg had wind gusts up to 25 mph. The return to more winter-like temperatures continued Thursday as temperatures continued to drop and were slightly colder than Wednesday, with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s. The NWS station at the Florence Regional Airport had a temperature swing of 26 degrees over two days, with a high temperature of 73 degrees on Tuesday and a maximum temperature of 47 by Thursday afternoon. Strong radiational cooling overnight helped temperatures drop into the low to mid-20's across much of the state Friday morning, dropping even the NWS station at the Charleston International Airport below freezing to 30 degrees. The dry and fair weather that had dominated the week started to come to an end as mostly clear skies gave way to some high-level cirrus clouds as moisture began to move back into the region ahead of a system that would impact the weather over the weekend.
A low-pressure system tracked northeast from the lower Mississippi Valley on Saturday, January 12, and redeveloped over the Georgia and South Carolina coast, creating the pattern for a cold air damming event set up across the Carolinas. Under cloudy skies, daytime temperatures struggled to reach the mid 40's in the Midlands and Upstate, and light precipitation fell across much of the area throughout the dreary day. As the low moved toward the Mid-Atlantic, cold rain shifted over most of the state, with wintry precipitation in portions of the Piedmont and Upstate. Heavier rainfall occurred overnight and into the early hours on Sunday, with over an inch of rain reported by CoCoRaHS observers in Greenville, Oconee and Pickens counties. An observer near Paris Mountain reported a quarter of an inch of freezing rain, and observers measured a tenth of an inch of freezing rain in Greer and Inman. The cloudy and cool conditions lingered into the beginning of the new work week before dry, high pressure would return to the area, with another chance of above normal temperatures.
(Note: The highest and lowest official temperatures and highest precipitation totals provided below are based on observations from the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer network and the National Weather Service's Forecast Offices.)| Weekly* | Since Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Airport | 0.74 | 2.83 | 1.2 |
| Greer Airport | 1.00 | 3.43 | 1.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.82 | 2.28 | 0.8 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.36 | 1.06 | -0.4 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.16 | 1.55 | 0.0 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.19 | 1.68 | 0.1 |
| Florence Airport | 0.31 | 1.08 | -0.3 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.06 | 0.89 | -0.6 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.02 | 0.51 | -1.0 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.08 | 0.55 | -0.9 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: Not Available. Columbia: 51 degrees. Barnwell: 45 degrees. Mullins: Not Available.
After a rainy start to 2019, rainfall totals over the past week varied across the state. At least an inch of rain was reported in the Upstate, most of that rain coming from the storm system that impacted the region over the weekend. The rainfall across the Midlands varied from a quarter of an inch to an inch, while less than a quarter of an inch was reported in the Lowcountry, Pee Dee and along the coast. Since the start of the new Water Year, which runs from October 1 to September 30, portions of Hampton and Jasper counties are still dealing with continued dryness. The above normal rainfall since the beginning of winter has caused the ground to be saturated and any rainfall has caused rivers across the state to respond and rise quickly. Despite the rather dry week, some minor flooding occurred along portions of the major river systems, including the Congaree, Wateree, Pee Dee and Little Pee Dee, and moderate flooding occurred in the lower Santee and Savannah rivers. The streamflow values reported along some streams and rivers continued to be above normal, though many of the flows in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee dropped to normal for this time of year.
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 55.4 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 54.5 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 56.3 degrees.
