A drying airmass settled into the state on Monday. At 7:00 p.m., the Greenville downtown airport reported a relative humidity value of just eleven percent. Tuesday's weather was mostly sunny and warm but included pockets of storm cells moving west to east through central South Carolina. Dime-sized hail fell near the Lake Murray Dam and high winds of 55 mph were observed at 7:29 p.m. over the Florence Regional AP. Little, to no measurable rain, accompanied the passing weather. The Sandhill observation site noted a 24-hour open pan evaporation water loss of 0.31 inches. Much cooler conditions were observed on Wednesday. At the noon hour, temperatures ranged from 57 degrees at Rock Hill, to 67 degrees at Beaufort. Shaw AFB in Sumter and the Orangeburg AP observed a 5:00 p.m. relative humidity value of sixteen percent. On Thursday morning, the thermometer fell to freezing for parts of the Upstate and the usual cold locations within the Piedmont and Midlands. Caesars Head, Table Rock, Chesnee and Cedar Creek, all recorded 29 degrees. Chester and Rock Hill reached a freezing 32 degrees. Spotty frost was seen by the public as far south as rural Lexington County, Kershaw County and eastward to Bishopville. A gradual increase in daytime warmth occurred over the weekend. Much of the state experienced afternoon temperatures in the middle 70's on Friday, the upper 70's on Saturday and around 80 degrees on Sunday. Hartsville, Dillon and Columbia recorded a Sunday maximum temperature of 82 degrees. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was near normal.
The highest official temperature reported was 84 degrees at Givhans on April 10. The lowest official temperature reported was 28 degrees at Ninety Nine Islands on April 13. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.05 inches at Cedar Creek ending at 7:00 a.m. on April 11. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.00 inches.
PRECIPITATION:
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Total Total from Avg
Greer AP 0.00 9.59 -4.4
Anderson AP 0.00 8.89 -4.8
Columbia Metro AP 0.00 6.77 -5.5
Orangeburg AP 0.00 7.55 -5.6
Charlotte, NC AP 0.00 8.26 -4.0
Augusta, GA Bush AP 0.00 6.06 -7.5
Florence AP 0.00 9.62 -1.2
N Myrtle Beach AP 0.01 7.62 -5.0
Charleston AP 0.00 9.36 -2.5
Savannah, GA AP 0.00 8.86 -3.0
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
SOIL:
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 69 degrees, Charleston 67 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF:
South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures at nearby Johnny Mercer Pier in Wrightsville Beach, NC were reported at 66 degrees.
