SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

April 12 - 18, 2004

WEATHER SUMMARY

Wet weather, in the form of showers and heavy rains, was observed on Monday into Tuesday morning. Clearing skies and cooler temperatures followed on brisk northwest winds. Myrtle Beach recorded a wind gust of 39 mph. By Thursday morning cold high pressure had centered over the Southeast with temperatures falling to freezing across inland sites. There were scattered reports of frost as far east as the southern midlands. More southerly winds began on Friday with a warming trend into the weekend. On both Saturday and Sunday, the mercury climbed well into the 80's. The statewide average temperature for the period was near normal.

The highest temperature reported was 89 degrees at Cheraw on April 18. The lowest temperature was 29 degrees at Longcreek and Salem on the morning of April 15. The heaviest 24 hour rainfall reported was 2.71" at Pritchardville ending at 7:00 a.m. on April 12. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 1.0.”

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

               		 Precipitation                     Temperature
                       Weekly   Jan 1  Deviation      Average  Average
                        Total   Total   From Avg      Maximum  Minimum  Average
         Greer           1.56     8.8       -7.4           70       45       58 
      Columbia           0.28     7.1       -7.9           77       48       62 
   Augusta, GA           0.37     9.6       -5.6           77       46       61 
        Cheraw           0.64     6.2       -8.3           67       45       56 
       Chester           1.08     8.6       -6.8           67       39       53 
      Johnston           0.41     5.4      -10.9           73       41       57 
        Sumter           0.85     7.8       -6.6           74       48       61       
       Clemson           0.91     7.1      -11.5           63       40       51
      Florence           1.64     7.1       -5.8           77       48       62 
  Myrtle Beach           0.74     9.3       -3.2           72       54       63 
     Allendale           0.22     9.6       -4.5           78       55       67 
    Charleston           1.77     8.3       -4.6           76       51       63 
      Beaufort           1.44     7.0       -5.7           80       56       68 

SOIL

4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 67 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF

South Carolina river stages were near to below normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach
and Savannah will average around 64 degrees.