The period started with unsettled weather with near normal temperatures, but quickly transitioned to dry and warmer conditions by the end of the weekend.
Showers and thunderstorms continued to move through the state during the early morning hours on Monday, August 5. Due to the slow movement of the storms, isolated areas reported torrential rainfall. The National Weather Service (NWS) station in Calhoun Falls reported a 24-hour rainfall total ending Monday morning of 3.58 inches, which broke the previous daily rainfall record for the day of 1.60 inches set back in 1921. Through the middle of the week, minimum temperatures in the upper 60's to mid-70's gave way to maximum temperatures in the upper 80's to low 90's across the state. As the main frontal boundary moved offshore, isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms continued across the state on Tuesday and Wednesday as a trough of low pressure lingered across the region. A strong thunderstorm formed over the southeastern portion of Horry County and produced strong winds, pea-sized hail and intense lightning. A small fire at an apartment complex in Conway was started by lightning from the storm. During the afternoon of Wednesday, August 7, quarter-sized hail was observed in the Bluffton area of Beaufort County, shortly before strong storms produced strong winds, with gusts over 50 mph, on the north side of Tybee Island, GA. Additional thunderstorms developed over portions of Berkeley and Charleston counties, and heavy rain and dime- to nickel-sized hail were reported in Cainhoy.
Drier conditions moved into the area, and temperatures rose to ten degrees above normal for this time of year with lows in the mid to upper70's and daytime highs climbing into the mid to upper 90's for the remainder of the period. There was an isolated, slow-moving thunderstorm that developed near Mount Pleasant and the Isle of Palms on Thursday afternoon. Tree damage was reported across the area, and a WeatherFlow station on Sullivan's Island reported a 54-mph wind gust. A wind gust of 60-mph was measured by a station on the Isle of Palms pier and storm spotters reported quarter to ping-pong ball-sized hail and frequent lightning associated with the thunderstorm. Skies on Friday and Saturday were mainly clear, allowing high temperatures to soar passed the 100-degree mark in Aiken, Barnwell, Berkeley, Edgefield, Kershaw, Lexington, Richland, Williamsburg and York counties. The NWS station located at the Charleston International Airport reported a maximum temperature of 98 degrees on August 9, which tied the previous daily record set back in 2007. By Sunday, August 11, a ridge of high pressure built over the region that persisted into the early part of the new work week.
(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 | 0.02 | 24.83 | -2.2 |
| Greer Airport | Trace | 33.40 | 3.7 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | Trace | 33.09 | 7.2 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.03 | 24.38 | -4.3 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.12 | 17.05 | -12.9 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.04 | 25.59 | -2.6 |
| Florence Airport | 1.29/td> | 26.36/td> | -0.8 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 1.66 | 24.96 | -5.3 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.06 | 26.59 | -4.3 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.28 | 27.44 | -2.7 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 82 degrees. Columbia: 31 degrees. Barnwell: 78 degrees. Mullins: 73 degrees.
Widespread rain fell across the Palmetto State over the seven days and occurred early in the period, these two premises contradict each other though there were isolated locations that recorded more rainfall throughout the week. Parts of Beaufort and Charleston counties measured more than two inches from stationary thunderstorms on Wednesday and CoCoRaHS observers on the Isle of Palms reported nearly three inches of rain on Thursday. River levels across parts of the state remained low and streamflow values continued to drop, with many streams and rivers reporting flows below normal for this time of year. Allendale and Hampton counties in the Lowcountry and Dillon, Florence, Horry and Marion counties in Pee Dee continue to be the driest areas of the state. Less than twenty-five inches of rain has fallen for the year in areas from the Interstate 95 corridor to the coast, with isolated totals of over twenty-five inches in portions of Beaufort, Charleston and Colleton counties. Many locations in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) and Midlands continued to miss out on the rain and received less than half an inch, except for nearly two inches reported in Lexington County due to localized thunderstorms. Portions of the Central Savannah River Area are close to a foot below normal since January 1, even though twenty to thirty inches of rain have fallen since the beginning of the year in the Midlands. Although rainfall totals in the Upstate over the last 30 days are below normal, the year-to-date rainfall totals in the Upstate remained near to above normal for this time of year, with more than twenty-five inches reported at many locations and over fifty inches in some of the more mountainous areas.
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 87.1 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 85.5 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 86.0 degrees.
