Several of the usual cold sites reported a light frost on Monday morning. Afternoon temperatures climbed to near 80 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday under mostly sunny skies. An abrupt change occurred on Thursday as brisk northeast winds, clouds and reports of light rain or drizzle dropped high temperatures into the 40's and 50's. Slow moving low pressure, moving eastward from the southern gulf states, set the conditions for periods of rain on Friday and Saturday. Clearing weather was observed on Sunday with winds shifting more southerly and afternoon temperatures warming into the 80's. Statewide temperatures for the period averaged two degrees below normal.
PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA
The maximum observed temperature was 85 degrees at Orangeburg on April 16. The minimum observed temperature was 27 degrees at Salem on the morning of April 10. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.13" at Lake Bowen ending at 7:00 a.m. on April 16. Statewide average rainfall for the period was 0.6".
Precipitation
Period 2000 Deviation* Temperature
Location Total Total From Avg. Maximum Minimum
Greer 2.17 13.1 3.4B 78 39
Columbia 0.63 14.9 0.5B 81 37
Florence 0.63 9.5 2.9B 82 38
Charleston 0.51 10.5 2.1B 82 44
Myrtle Beach 0.75 9.7 2.9B 77 43
Augusta, Ga. 0.56 11.1 3.9B 83 30
*A=Above, B=Below
Note: Weekly rainfall amounts are for the prior 24-hrs ending 7 am Monday through ending 7 am Sunday
SOIL
4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 69 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF
Most South Carolina rivers are near normal to below normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 66 degrees.
sco@water.dnr.state.sc.us http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sco/weekly/wk041700.html