Poorly distributed showers fell from groups of cumulus clouds on Monday but amounts were light. Union and Winnsboro reported a Monday high temperature of 92 degrees. Sunny weather on Tuesday allowed the afternoon temperature at Florence and Sandhill to also reach 92 degrees. Wednesday's deep-layer southeasterly winds brought an early episode of subtropical weather. Thunderstorms developed over the Upstate late in the day. Rainfall amounts measured at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday morning included 3.76 inches at Jocassee Dam and 2.79 inches at Table Rock. The Charleston AP sunrise temperature of 77 degrees was that location's warmest start of a May morning in ten years. Drenching rains on Thursday caused flooded fields from Orangeburg County into Dillon County. Richland County Emergency Services instruments at McCord's Ferry Road near Eastover measured 6.93 inches. A CoCoRaHS volunteer in the Fork community of Dillon County measured 6.02 inches. National Weather Service cooperative observers reported 6.00 inches at Lake City, 5.50 inches at Mullins, 4.62 inches at Longtown and 3.31 inches at the Orangeburg AP. At least twenty-two airports in South Carolina reported an observation on Thursday of heavy rain. Bright, blue skies were observed on Friday after a frontal passage and falling temperatures. Bishopville and the McEntire ANG AP noted a mild maximum of 74 degrees on Friday afternoon. Unseasonable cold greeted early risers on Saturday morning. Walhalla and Ninety-Nine Islands cooled to 38 degrees. Cedar Creek and Pickens reported 40 degrees and the mercury moved to 46 degrees at Hartsville and Walterboro. The Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station and Charleston AP were a pair of the few locations to reach 80 degrees on Saturday. Mostly clear conditions transitioned into overcast then cloudy skies during Saturday's evening hours. Areas of light rain formed over the northwestern counties. Anderson, Calhoun Falls and Greenwood all received 0.23 inches of rain. Passing showers on Sunday kept temperatures quite cool for the date. A cool and rainy Fountain Inn only reached 62 degrees while a distant and partly cloudy Sullivan's Island noted 79 degrees. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was near the long-term average.
The highest official temperature reported was 94 degrees at Sandhill on May 12. The lowest official temperature reported was 32 degrees at Jocassee 8WNW on May 17. (This is the state's lowest temperature for so late in May since the 32 degrees at Cedar Creek on May 23, 2002.) The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 7.65 inches at the Marion US Forest Service (RAWS) site ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 16. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 2.1 inches.
PRECIPITATION:
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Anderson AP 1.85 16.09 -0.9
Greer AP 2.02 17.65 -0.2
Charlotte, NC AP 2.11 21.44 5.9
Columbia Metro AP 2.05 15.31 0.1
Orangeburg AP 3.31 16.00 0.1
Augusta, GA Bush AP 3.75 17.19 1.0
Florence AP 2.52 17.28 3.5
N Myrtle Beach AP 0.91 12.44 -3.4
Charleston AP 0.96 16.95 2.0
Savannah, GA AP 0.53 14.90 0.1
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
SOIL:
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 69 degrees, Charleston 73 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF:
South Carolina river stages were near normal. Charleston Harbor reported a water temperature of 74 degrees and Springmaid Pier at Myrtle Beach reported a surf water temperature of 69 degrees.
