WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2013

July 15 - July 21, 2013

WEATHER SUMMARY:

Monday began much like the previous days with surplus and unneeded rainfalls. Strong high pressure, north of the state, altered the movement of thundershowers to an east to west path. Twenty-four hour rains on Monday left 1.59 inches at Johnston, 1.47 inches at Allendale and 1.36 inches at Edgefield. Dillon and Bennettsville reported high temperatures of 91 degrees. More stable air edged into South Carolina on Tuesday with a long-awaited break from the rains. At 10:00 a.m., the Greenville downtown airport recorded a barometric pressure value of 30.35 inches of mercury. A mostly sunny afternoon at Union pushed the temperature to 95 degrees. No rain fell in the Upstate. The state's highest summer temperature was observed on Wednesday at the Hartsville AP with 99 degrees. The Charleston AP reached 96 degrees for only its second time this summer. It was 95 degrees at Florence and Darlington. Soaring cloud tops during the peak heating of the day set the stage for more stormy weather. Mid-afternoon storms over Sumter turned parking lots into shallow lakes. At CoCoRaHS volunteer in Sumter measured a heavy rain total of 3.14 inches. Two-inch diameter hail fell near Taylor's and the Savannah River Site recorded a wind gust of 69 mph on one of their instrument towers. A curtain of cloud to ground lightning, wind and rain swept through Richland County around 4:00 PM, downing trees and causing power disruptions. 1.06 inches of rain fell in twenty minutes at the USC campus monitoring site. Thursday started sunny with welcomed drying. A few seabreeze-induced showers formed along the coastal zones but most of the state was rain free. Summerville measured the day's heaviest rain of 0.90 inches. Cool temperatures, at least for July, were observed on Friday morning. Winnsboro and Newberry reported sunrise temperatures of 68 degrees. Very localized showers on Friday produced flash flooding in Jacksonboro. Sunny weather at Clarks Hill sent the mercury to 95 degrees. Clouds blanketed much of the state over the weekend with slow-moving, yet isolated, showers. The warmest temperature on Saturday was found at Sandhill and Sullivan's Island at 90 degrees. Pockets of organized thundershowers left 1.99 inches of rain at Clemson and 1.65 inches at Jamestown. More convection formed on Sunday afternoon with additional episodes of flash flooding. An intense rain over downtown Charleston caused lengthy traffic delays. The Columbia Metro AP measured 1.95 inches in just one hour and torrential rains near the Earlwood Community caused the Smith Branch creek to rise almost 14 feet in a matter of three hours. Oddly, the Florence Regional AP had no measureable rainfall during the Monday through Sunday stretch. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was one degree below the long-term average.

The highest official temperature reported was 99 degrees at Hartsville AP on July 17. The lowest official temperature reported was 64 degrees at Caesars Head and Long Creek on July 18. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.85 inches at Lugoff ending at 7:00 a.m. on July 18. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 1.3 inches.

PRECIPITATION:

 
                                  
                                   Precipitation                
                              Weekly   Jan 1   Departure     
        Anderson AP            2.02    44.65     20.1
           Greer AP            2.32    46.16     19.8
   Charlotte, NC AP            0.18    31.98      8.9
  Columbia Metro AP            4.18    34.73     10.0
      Orangeburg AP            0.82    35.58      9.1
Augusta, GA Bush AP            0.47    37.65     12.6
        Florence AP            0.00    35.78     12.4
  N Myrtle Beach AP            0.17    35.38      9.3
      Charleston AP            0.64    40.41     14.0
    Savannah, GA AP            1.17    35.41      9.6

     
  



 

Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 80 degrees, Charleston 82 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF:

South Carolina river stages were above normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 81 degrees.