SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

May 22 - May 28, 2006

WEATHER SUMMARY

Hail episodes accompanied afternoon thunderstorms again on Monday afternoon with golf-ball sized stones falling in Colleton, Walterboro and Charleston counties. A cold front moved south through the area Tuesday helping to stabilize the weather with cooler air. Mid-90 degree heat returned Thursday with another round on hail producing storms. On Friday, the Clemson Agriculture Weather Office recorded a wind gust of 69 mph. Despite the increased coverage of afternoon convection, the speed of movement limited rainfall amounts for most locations to generally less than one-quarter of an inch. Hot weather was observed over the Memorial Day weekend. Isolated storms Saturday dropped large hail on Beaufort and damaged property in Berkeley and Charleston counties from winds estimated at between 60 and 80 mph. With the exception of the immediate beaches enjoying a cooling onshore wind, inland sites on Sunday reported hot and drying conditions. For the period, the state average temperature was five degrees above normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 99 degrees at Orangeburg on May 27. The lowest official temperature reported was 50 degrees at Table Rock on the morning of May 24. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.97 inches Lake Greenwood ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 26. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.2 inches.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

                           
                                                      
                            Precipitation                    
                       Weekly   Jan 1  Deviation     
                        Total   Total   From Avg
         Greer           0.11   11.16    -10.5
      Columbia           0.16    9.41     -9.4 
    Orangeburg           0.20   12.21     -6.6  
 Charlotte, NC           0.06    9.27     -8.9             	
   Augusta, GA           0.07   13.69     -5.2  
      Florence           0.98   14.67     -2.2
  Myrtle Beach           0.16   12.77     -3.0
    Charleston           0.06   12.39     -4.7     
  Savannah, GA  	       0.03    9.68     -7.3






Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL: 4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 80 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures near Myrtle Beach and Fripp Inlet will average from 76 to 79 degrees.