WEATHER SUMMARY
The last full week of Winter began on a mild note with afternoon temperatures in the upper 60's and low 70's. Early flowering along with light pollen was observed. Southerly winds on Wednesday helped push the mercury into the lower 80's at several sites, making it the warmest day of the new year. By Thursday, a boundary of cooler air dropped south colliding with the moist, warm air already in place. Showers and thunderstorms were reported early in the day. Wet weather and cloudy skies continued through Friday. On Saturday, slow moving low pressure eased into the state with soaking rains that lasted most of the day. Heavy rains fell across the southern midlands with reports of flooding. Clearing occurred late in the day on Sunday. The average statewide temperature for the period was three degrees above normal.
PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA
The highest temperature reported was 83 degrees at Allendale on March 12. The lowest temperature was 30 degrees at Caesars Head on the morning of March 11. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.94" at Orangeburg AP ending at 7:00 a.m. on March 16. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 1.1".
Precipitation
Period 2003 Deviation* Temperature
Location Total Total From Avg. Maximum Minimum
Greer 0.73 7.98 3.5B 77 37
Columbia 1.95 9.59 1.4B 79 39
Florence 1.37 5.42 3.8B 77 40
Charleston 1.22 7.11 2.2B 80 47
N Myrtle Beach 1.24 6.89 2.4B 75 42
Augusta, Ga. 1.30 9.17 1.9B 79 39
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 57 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF
South Carolina river stages were reported above normal with several at or above flood stage.
Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 56 degrees.
sco@water.dnr.state.sc.us http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sco/weekly/wk031603.html