Drying heat dominated the last week of astronomical spring. On Monday afternoon, Winnsboro, Dillon and Orangeburg recorded 101 degrees. All day sun on Tuesday sent the mercury to 102 degrees at Marion, Darlington and Shaw AFB. The 101 degrees at Columbia Metro AP set a date record, besting the 100 degrees first set in 1920. Only the mountain valleys near moving water and the forested summits of the highest elevations of the state escaped the sweltering conditions. Caesars Head reported a Tuesday afternoon maximum of 80 degrees. Sounding balloons released at the Charleston NWS office indicated a freezing level that had climbed to 16,175 feet. Barnwell, Cades and Longtown recorded a Wednesday high temperature of 103 degrees. Thursday's heating aided in the formation of widely-spaced thunderstorms. At 3:35 p.m., winds gusted to 55 mph at Darlington and storms over nearby Florence dropped the temperature from 100 degrees to 74 degrees in one hour. One-inch hail fell on parts of Anderson, Aiken, Chesterfield and Horry counties. The USGS rain gage at Lynches River near Effingham measured 1.46 inches of rain in 30 minutes. Marion and Mullins received 0.97 inches. Folly Beach started the daylight hours of Friday at a warm and humid 82 degrees. A thundershower over the Kings Mt. National Military Park, part of the expanding circulation around a distant and once named Tropical Storm Bill, produced 0.96 inches of rain. Two separate CoCoRaHS volunteers at Pawley's Island each reported rains of 2.24 inches. Summerville noted a Friday afternoon high temperature of 100 degrees. At 2:35 p.m. on Saturday, thunderstorm winds gusted to 46 mph at the Greenville-Spartanburg AP. The 3:00 p.m. temperature at Sassafras Mt was a pleasant 72 degrees while the Congaree National Park near Eastover baked at 98 degrees. At 5:00 p.m., Shaw AFB in Sumter reported 98 degrees and 32 percent relative humidity. Moisture-robbing west winds gusted to 38 mph at the Columbia Metro AP. The twenty-four hour open pan evaporation at Sandhill Experiment Station soared to a preliminary record water loss of 0.61 inches and part of a running total of 3.96 inches for the week. Sunday's official start of summer did not need an introduction. Moncks Corner and the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station recorded a Sunday maximum temperature of 99 degrees. At 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Florence and Sumter were still at 98 degrees. As of Sunday midnight, no measurable rain had fallen on Antreville, Clinton, Newberry, Little Mountain, Sandhill, Johnston, Barnwell, Bamberg, Fort Moultrie and Edisto Island under a week's worth of wilting and nearly overhead mid-day sun. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was seven degrees above the long-term average.
The highest official temperature reported was 104 degrees at Cades, Bishopville and Bamberg on June 16 (state's highest temperature since July 9, 2012) and at Longtown and the Hartsville AP on June 18. The lowest official temperature reported was 58 degrees at Jocassee 8WNW on June 15. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.93 inches at Darlington ending at 7:00 a.m. on June 19. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 0.3 inches.
| Weekly | Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson AP | 0.17 | 17.88 | -3.0 |
| Greer AP | 0.36 | 21.31 | -0.8 |
| Charlotte, NC AP | 0.01 | 15.61 | -4.1 |
| Columbia Metro AP | 1.14 | 23.13 | 3.4 |
| Orangeburg AP | 0.00 | 18.19 | -3.0 |
| Augusta, GA Bush AP | 0.00 | 18.52 | -2.4 |
| Florence AP | 0.88 | 17.78 | -0.9 |
| N Myrtle Beach AP | 0.04 | 21.78 | 1.2 |
| Charleston AP | 0.04 | 20.96 | 0.9 |
| Savannah, GA AP | 0.96 | 20.72 | 0.3 |
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 85 degrees, Charleston 86 degrees.
South Carolina river stages were below normal. Charleston Harbor reported a water temperature of 86 degrees and Springmaid Pier at Myrtle Beach reported a surf water temperature of 83 degrees.
