WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2012

March 5 - March 11, 2012

WEATHER SUMMARY:

Late season cold arrived on Monday morning with several sites in the Midlands reporting minimum temperatures near freezing and strong winds. The temperature at Cheraw, Pelion and the McEntire ANG AP fell to 31 degrees. At 11:00 a.m., instruments at the Columbia Metro AP recorded west winds of 35 mph, gusting to 44 mph. Under clear skies, scattered frost formed over portions of central South Carolina on Tuesday morning. McCormick and Shaw AFB in Sumter noted a low temperature of 28 degrees. Milder weather returned on Wednesday. Columbia and Orangeburg warmed to 72 degrees. Sandy Run and Beaufort reached 77 degrees on Thursday. A boundary of cooler air approached the state during the Thursday evening hours and caused passing rain showers. Overnight rainfall amounts included 0.52 inches at Jocassee Dam and 0.49 inches at Pickens. Most of the state was left without measurable rain. Mostly sunny, seasonal conditions were observed over the weekend. Little Mountain and Florence recorded a Saturday afternoon high temperature of 63 degrees. Modest warming on Sunday sent the mercury to 74 degrees at Aiken but onshore winds along the north coast held the high temperature at Springmaid Pier to just 57 degrees. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was two degrees above normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 78 degrees at Bamberg, Pinopolis, Barnwell, Jamestown, Givhans and Hardeeville on March 8. The lowest official temperature reported was 22 degrees at Chesnee on March 6. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.55 inches at Caesars Head ending at 7:00 a.m. on March 9. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.1 inches.

PRECIPITATION:

                                 Precipitation                                                     
                            Weekly   Jan 1   Departure     
                            Total    Total    from Avg
         Greer AP            0.45     7.25     -2.2
      Anderson AP            0.29     7.35     -1.9
      Columbia Metro AP      0.00     5.04     -3.6
    Orangeburg AP            0.00     5.80     -3.2
 Charlotte, NC AP            0.27     5.54     -2.7
   Augusta, GA Bush AP       0.00     3.51     -5.9
      Florence AP            0.01     5.82     -1.6
N Myrtle Beach AP            0.00     5.87     -2.6
    Charleston AP            0.00     6.88     -1.1
  Savannah, GA AP            0.05     7.37     -0.4

Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 59 degrees, Charleston 61 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF:

South Carolina river stages were near to below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 58 degrees.