SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

February 10 - 16, 2003

WEATHER SUMMARY

Cloudy, wet weather started the week. On Tuesday, a boundary of colder air entered the state and passed quickly eastward. Temperatures on Wednesday rose into the 60's on west winds gusting as high as 40 mph. A slow warming trend followed and by Saturday the mercury hit 80 degrees for the first time this new year. A cold front edged into the state from the north on Sunday with rapidly falling temperatures. Early in the evening, moist air, over-running the freezing air near the surface, set the stage for a mixture of sleet, snow and freezing rain over most of the state's northern counties. By midnight, upstate locations were reporting iced over roadways and isolated power outages. The average statewide temperature for the period was near normal.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

The highest temperature reported was 80 degrees at Allendale on February 15. The lowest temperature was 18 degrees at Chester on the morning of February 13. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.22"at Salem ending at 7:00 a.m. on February 10. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.4.”

                      Precipitation
                Period    2003       Deviation*       Temperature
Location         Total   Total        From Avg.    Maximum   Minimum	
Greer             1.01    3.80            3.0B        59       24
Columbia          1.63    3.65            3.0B        75       28
Florence          0.82    1.71            3.8B        73       25      
Charleston        0.80    2.26            3.5B        75       31
N Myrtle Beach    1.06    2.80            2.7B        65       25
Augusta, Ga.      1.21    3.89            2.8B        77       25
A=Above, B=Below                                                                       
                                                 

Note: Weekly rainfall amounts are for the 24-hour period ending midnight Sunday.

SOIL

4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 48 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF

South Carolina river stages were reported near normal and rising.
Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 48 degrees.