A dry high-pressure remained in control on Monday, January 28, providing clear skies and seasonable temperatures for the region as an area of low pressure continued to move away from the coast. The National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Clemson/Oconee County Airport reported freezing fog with visibility of a quarter mile during the morning, as minimum temperatures were below freezing in parts of the Piedmont and Upstate. The low temperatures across the remainder of the state ranged from the mid-30's to the lower 40's and the high temperatures warmed into the upper 50's across the state. The high pressure slipped off shore in advance of a strong cold front on Tuesday. Morning temperatures across the state started in the upper 20's in the Upstate to the lower 40's near the coast. The high temperatures warmed into the mid- to-upper 50s across the state, as southerly flow spread ahead of the front, with widespread mid- and high-level clouds. Unlike previous frontal passages in January, light rain was observed as the front moved across the state due to limited moisture. The highest CoCoRaHS total from the event was 0.26 inches, reported by an observer in both Orangeburg and Sumter counties on the morning of Wednesday, January 30.
Behind the front, an Arctic high pressure centered over the Great Lakes dominated the weather pattern through Friday, pushing cold air into the region, though temperatures were not nearly as frigid as those observed in the Midwest and Great Plains. With the light rainfall from Tuesday and the cold temperatures Wednesday morning, black ice was a concern in parts of the Upstate. The low temperatures were up to 15 degrees below normal, and the NWS Rock Hill York County Airport measured a minimum temperature of 19 degrees while freezing temperatures were reported at stations along the coast, such as Charleston (27 degrees) and Myrtle Beach (32 degrees). Under sunny skies, high temperatures at many of the stations across the state only warmed into the upper 40's, nearly ten degrees below normal for this time of year. During the morning of Thursday, January 31, temperatures near the coast were at or below freezing for up to five hours, as much of the state reported low temperatures below normal for the second day in a row. Daytime temperatures were not as cold as Wednesday, as maximum temperatures reached the upper 40's to low 50's.
The dry and quiet pattern continued to hold on Friday, as the high pressure shifted and started to move off the Atlantic coast. This allowed for a slight warming trend through the day, with temperatures rebounding from morning lows in the upper 20's to highs near 60 degrees, with some stations recording values in the low 60's. On the morning of Saturday, February 2, Punxsutawney Phil gave his prediction that spring would come early this year after failing to see his shadow. The cool morning, with lows in the upper 20's to mid-30's across the state, gave way to high temperatures more than ten degrees above normal as highs in the upper 60's were recorded at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, the Florence Regional Airport and the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport. A weak upper level disturbance moving through the area combined with a weak coastal trough lingering off the Southeast coast on Sunday, creating the setup for isolated to scattered showers over much of southeast South Carolina and portions of the Midlands. Limited moisture associated with the forcing only produced light rain across the state, with most locations reporting less than a quarter of an inch. The NWS station located at the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand Airport reported the highest rainfall total of 0.33 inches from the event, as high temperatures across the state ranged from the upper 50's to low 60's.
(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 | 0.19 | 5.17 | 0.9 |
| Greer Airport | 0.05 | 5.53 | 1.3 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.08 | 4.68 | 0.9 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.07 | 3.04 | -0.9 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.11 | 3.68 | -0.6 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.07 | 4.40 | 0.1 |
| Florence Airport | 0.13 | 2.93 | -0.6 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.33 | 2.07 | -1.9 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.05 | 1.71 | -2.3 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.31 | 2.86 | -1.2 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 45 degrees. Columbia: 51 degrees. Barnwell: 45 degrees. Mullins: 42 degrees.
Rainfall totals across the Palmetto State for the past seven days were less than half an inch. The lack of significant rainfall helped portions of the state dry out from the above normal precipitation observed since November. Some of the coastal areas of the Pee Dee are between two and four inches below normal since the beginning of the year. Much of the Lowcountry and Midlands are slightly below to near normal rainfall, though the majority of the Upstate is reporting above normal rainfall. The dry period caused streamflow values for most of the rivers, creeks and streams across the Palmetto State to return to normal flow for this time of year. Only lower portions of the Santee and Savannah River remained in minor flood stage, with river levels trending downward by the beginning of the new work week.
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 53.8 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 55.0 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 54.5 degrees.
