The first part of the week was dominated by unsettled weather and heavy rain across portions of the Palmetto State. On Monday, June 10, morning temperatures were up to five degrees above normal, with many stations starting the week in the upper 60's to low 70's. The National Weather Service (NWS) station in Caesars Head reported a low of 62 degrees, the coolest minimum temperature in South Carolina for the day. Daytime temperatures warmed into the low to upper 80's, as a low- pressure system and an approaching cold front helped spread moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the region, resulting in scattered thunderstorms with localized heavy rain across the Midlands. Both low and high temperatures on June 11 were up to five degrees above normal, with similar minimum and maximum temperatures. As the front moved through the state, it stalled along the coast early Tuesday afternoon, and the heavy rain impacted Beaufort County.
The 24-hour rainfall totals reported by CoCoRaHS observers in Beaufort County on Wednesday ranged from around an inch and a half near Daufuskie Island to 8.64 inches near Bluffton. Additional heavy rain fell along the coastal Lowcountry through Wednesday. Emergency management reported multiple streets in downtown Charleston were closed due to freshwater flooding, including the areas near East Bay, Meeting and Market streets. Portions of roads on Edisto Island were impassable due to the second day of heavy rains, and the storms spawned a waterspout just offshore of Kiawah Island. Because of the widespread cloud cover and rainfall, many locations across the state recorded maximum temperatures up to twenty degrees below normal for the middle of June. The NWS station at the Charleston International Airport observed a new record low maximum temperature of 76 degrees, breaking the previous record of 77 degrees set back in 1992. The high temperatures at stations at Florence and Greenville-Spartanburg Airport tied for the third coldest on record for June 12, with 75 and 71 degrees respectively. Temperatures on Thursday, June 13, started in the low to upper 60's and climbed to the low to mid-80's by the afternoon, which were slightly below normal as another cold front swept through the state. The heavy rains finally stopped and a 3-day rainfall total of 11.07 inches from a CoCoRaHS observer near Bluffton in Beaufort County, with five additional CoCoRaHS observers in the same county reporting totals exceeding eight inches. Totals over five inches were measured in Berkeley, Charleston and Colleton counties. The NWS station at the Charleston International Airport went from an annual rainfall total of 7.90 inches on June 5 to 13.68 inches by June 16. Due to the rainfall, the United States Drought Monitor removed D2 (severe drought) from the state and the South Carolina Drought Response Committee convened and updated the drought designations for all 46 counties to reflect the improved conditions.
Behind the front, high pressure and drier air moved into the region, helping to keep skies clear and the chance of precipitation low through the remainder of the period. Morning temperatures were brisk for the middle of June, with minimum temperatures in the low to upper 50's, which were close to fifteen degrees below normal. The NWS station in Calhoun Falls reported a low temperature of 54 degrees, which broke the previous record of 55 degrees in 1995. High temperatures were also cool on Friday afternoon, only reaching the upper 70's to low 80's. The cooler than normal temperatures continued into Saturday as many locations reported minimum temperatures in the top five coldest for the day. The NWS station in Orangeburg observed a minimum temperature of 54 degrees, and the 58 degrees measured at the Charleston International Airport tied the second coldest June 15 morning on record. By Sunday, June 16, the high pressure began to shift into the Atlantic, and the typical heat and humidity for this time of year returned across the region and would control the weather through the upcoming week. The last morning of cool minimum temperatures measured across the state had observed temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. The maximum temperatures returned to normal, with highs in the mid-80's to low 90s, and increased moisture helped develop isolated storms along the coastal portions of Georgetown and Horry counties.
(Note: The highest and lowest official temperatures and highest precipitation totals provided below are based on observations from the National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer network and the National Weather Service's Forecast Offices.)| Weekly* | Since Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Airport | 0.10 | 21.76 | 1.4 |
| Greer Airport | 0.10 | 24.98 | 3.5 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.34 | 24.94 | 5.9 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.19 | 17.93 | -1.0 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.19M | 12.08 | -8.2 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 2.17 | 19.84 | -0.2 |
| Florence Airport | 0.34 | 16.07 | -1.8 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.64 | 15.49 | -4.4 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 2.57 | 13.68 | -5.4 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 6.89 | 21.62 | 2.3 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 60 degrees. Columbia: 75 degrees. Barnwell: 70 degrees. Mullins: 67 degrees.
Rainfall totals over the seven days were varied across the Palmetto State, with some localized areas of the state observing more than ten inches of rain while other locations only received half an inch. During the first half of the week, the stalled cold front helped steer a low-pressure system across the coast. The placement of the boundary created southerly flow, pulling in moisture from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The thunderstorms trained over the same region for three days and excessive amounts of rain fell on drought-parched areas and eased some of the dry conditions in the Lowcountry. The rainfall over the state caused stream levels to respond quickly, and some of the rivers, such as the Congaree and Wateree, to reach minor to moderate flood stage early in the week, but then fell below critical flood thresholds by the end of the period. Similarly, streamflow values in areas that received the heaviest rainfall totals increased and remained slightly above normal through the weekend. The year-to-date rainfall totals in the Upstate remained well above normal for this time of year, with more than 20 inches reported at many locations and over 40 inches in some of the more mountainous areas. Fifteen to twenty inches of rain have fallen since the beginning of the year in the Midlands, but even after the rain this weekend, the Central Savannah River Area is close to four inches below normal. The Lowcountry and Pee Dee continue to be the driest parts of the state, with between ten and fifteen inches of rain for the year in areas from the Interstate 95 corridor to the coast. With the recent rainfall, there are isolated totals over 25 inches in portions of Beaufort, Charleston and Colleton counties. In areas that have missed the beneficial rainfall, the totals are six to eight inches below normal for this time of year in these regions, with portions of Georgetown County close to ten inches below normal.
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 81.3 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 80.1 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 80.3 degrees.
