SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

May 15 - May 21, 2006

WEATHER SUMMARY

Much like the week before, mostly sunny days were interrupted by passing storms. Golf ball-sized hail fell during a thunderstorm in Florence County on Monday. Cool weather followed one of the many boundaries dropping southeast and on Tuesday morning temperatures fell into the lower 40's. Thundershowers Thursday evening produced high winds and scattered, half inch rains. Surface heating over the weekend fueled violent episodes of weather from the mountains, in a corridor through the midlands and over to the north coast. A possible tornado was reported Saturday in Berkeley County and 2-inch hail fell on several upstate locations. Afternoon temperatures climbed into the 90's, a result of westerly winds and nearly 14 hours of high angle sun. Severe conditions Sunday afternoon occurred across Anderson, Cherokee and Spartanburg counties. Hailstones of 2 inches in diameter caused crop and property losses. At 4:21 p.m. on Sunday, the National Weather Service Office at Columbia AP recorded a windspeed of 71 mph. Although a few sites measured rainfall in excess of one inch, most areas received less than one-quarter inch because of the convection's rapid movement. For the period, the state average temperature was three degrees below normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 95 degrees at Beaufort on May 20. The lowest official temperature reported was 37 degrees at Hunts Bridge on the morning of May 16. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.10 inches at Darlington ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 21. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.5 inches.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

                           
                           
                             Precipitation                    
                       Weekly   Jan 1  Deviation     
                        Total   Total   From Avg
         Greer           0.67   11.05     -9.6
      Columbia           0.36    9.25     -8.8 
    Orangeburg           0.38   12.01     -6.0  
 Charlotte, NC           0.73    9.21     -8.1             	
   Augusta, GA           0.15   13.62     -4.5  
      Florence           3.34   13.69     -2.3
  Myrtle Beach           0.63   12.61     -2.4
    Charleston           0.02   12.33     -3.8     
  Savannah, GA    	 0.14    9.65     -6.4






Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL: 4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 75 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near to below normal. Ocean water temperatures near Myrtle Beach and Fripp Inlet will average from 72 to 75 degrees.