Dry weather persisted through much of the week as an area of high pressure settled across the region. As the coastal trough moved out of the area on Sunday night into the early morning on Monday, February 4, up to a quarter of an inch of rain fell across the Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions, though a few locations in Clarendon County measured more than half an inch, including a CoCoRaHS volunteer near Manning who recorded 0.85 inches of rain. Clear skies and overnight radiational cooling helped drop temperatures into the mid to upper 30s across much of the state, though a few locations only fell to the lower 40s. Despite some high clouds during the day, high temperatures across the state ranged from the upper 60's in the Upstate to lower 70's along the coast, ten to fifteen degrees above normal.
The warming trend that started on Monday continued through the much of the week, with both maximum and minimum temperatures well above normal for this time of year. Typically during the month of February low temperatures are between 30 and 45 degrees, with highs in the mid 50's to lower 60's. Tuesday, February 5, was the first day of a run of unseasonably warm and dry conditions across the Palmetto State. Morning temperatures were warm, up to ten degrees above normal, with lows in the mid to upper 40s across much of the state. High temperatures for the day were more than twenty degrees above normal, with many locations reaching the upper 70's. The tranquil weather pattern continued into Wednesday, with mild overnight temperatures in the lower 50's across much of the state. The low temperature of 52 degrees at the National Weather Service (NWS) station located at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport was only three degrees lower than their normal high temperature of 55 degrees. Maximum temperatures on Wednesday reached the mid to upper 70's and many NWS stations across the state had one of their top five warmest February 6ths on record. Morning temperatures on Thursday, February 7, in the Midlands and Upstate ranked in the top five highest minimum temperatures, including 61 degrees at Anderson FAA and 62 degrees at GSP, nearly 30 degrees warmer than the normal minimum temperature of 33 degrees. Nearly every location within the state recorded their warmest February 7th on record, as high temperatures at some of the NWS stations in the Lowcountry and Pee Dee regions reached the lower 80's, such as the stations at Andrews (83 degrees) and Summerville (81 degrees).
Numerous daily record high temperatures were broken during the three-day period, including the select records listed below.
| Date | Station | Maximum Temperature (deg. F) | Previous Date Record / Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 5 | Greenville-Spartanburg Int'l Airport | 77 | 74 / 1899 |
| February 5 | Greenville-Spartanburg Int'l Airport | 77 | 74 / 1899 |
| February 5 | Santuck | 77 | 76 / 1927 |
| February 5 | Anderson County Airport | 76 | 71 / 2012 |
| February 6 | Greenville-Spartanburg Int'l Airport | 72 | 71 /1999 |
| February 6 | Charleston Int'l Airport | 78 | 77 / 2008 |
| February 6 | Chester | 76 | 74 / 1976 |
| February 7 | Greenville-Spartanburg Int'l Airport | 77 | 70 /2009 |
| February 7 | Charleston Int'l Airport | 80 | 79 / 1999 |
| February 7 | Florence Regional Airport | 83 | 80 / 1999 |
| February 7 | Columbia Metro Airport | 83 | 80 / 1999 |
| February 8 | Columbia Metro Airport | 77 | 76 / 1965 |
| February 8 | Florence Regional Airport | 82 | 76/ 1965 |
| February 8 | Charleston Int'l Airport | 80 | 79 / 1965 |
The record warmth continued Friday, February 8, though a cold front moved across the state during the day, ushering in some relief to the above-normal temperatures for the weekend. High temperatures in the Upstate only reached the mid-60's, but before the cold air could reach the rest of the state, record maximum temperatures were set in Columbia (77 degrees), Charleston (80 degrees) and Florence (82 degrees). The front had very limited moisture and only produced scattered showers amounting to less than a tenth of an inch of rain. Behind the front, Canadian high pressure built into the region and temperatures fell overnight into the upper 30's and lower 40's by Saturday morning. High temperatures on Saturday were closer to slightly below normal, ranging in the mid to upper 50's. The southerly flow around the back side of the high as it shifted offshore helped create a low-level cold air damming event across the Midlands and Upstate. High temperatures on Sunday struggled to get out of the 40's west of the Interstate 95 corridor. With temperatures up to ten degrees below normal, most locations saw swings in the maximum temperatures from Thursday to Sunday of 35 degrees or more across the area. The cool and wet pattern held ahead of another cold front that would impact the state during the first part of the work week.
(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 | 0.06 | 5.23 | 0.1 |
| Greer Airport | Trace | 5.53 | 0.4 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.01 | 4.69 | 0.2 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | Trace | 3.04 | -1.8 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.00 | 3.68 | -1.3 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.01 | 4.41 | -0.8 |
| Florence Airport | 0.00 | 2.93 | -1.3 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.00 | 2.07 | -2.7 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 1.71 | -3.1 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.00 | 2.86 | -1.9 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 46 degrees. Columbia: 53 degrees. Barnwell: 47 degrees. Mullins: 47 degrees.
For the second week in a row, rainfall totals across the Palmetto State for the previous seven days were less than half an inch. The lack of significant rainfall aided in the continued dry out of the state from the above normal precipitation observed since November. Most of the region saw rainfall of less than a tenth of an inch, with only portions of Chester, Fairfield and Horry counties reporting the highest amounts. Some of the coastal areas of the Pee Dee are between two and four inches below normal since the beginning of the year, while the remainder of the state is reporting near normal rainfall. The continued lack of rain led to streamflow values for most of the rivers, creeks and streams across the Palmetto State to return to normal flows for this time of year. Only lower portions of the Savannah River remained in minor flood stage, with river levels trending downward through the beginning of the new week
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 55.4 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 54.1 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 55.4 degrees.
