The main weather story for the week was the record high temperatures, continued lack of rainfall and the worsening of dry conditions across much of the Palmetto State. During the period, there were no major weather events, despite the tropics remaining active. However, King Tides from September 25 - 29 caused saltwater flooding along portions of the South Carolina coast.
On Monday, September 23, high pressure dominated the weather pattern, as it remained entrenched over the southeastern United States. Under clear skies, the morning temperatures dropped to near normal values in the upper 50s to low 60s across much of the state. However, some National Weather Service (NWS) stations in the mountains reported temperatures in the upper 40s. Daytime temperatures rose into the upper 80s to low 90s, which were up to ten degrees above normal. A dry cold front crossed the region early on Tuesday, providing another shot of dry air, but bringing no relief from the above normal high temperatures, with maximum temperatures recorded in the low to mid 90s. Behind the front, high pressure settled back over the region by Wednesday, as the front stalled over southern Georgia. Minimum temperatures ranged from the mid-60s to the low 70s, nearly ten degrees above normal, as the high temperatures continued to climb into the 90s. The NWS station in Pelion reported a maximum temperature of 102 degrees, which broke the daily record of 92 degrees set back on 2007. On Wednesday evening, the Charleston Harbor tidal gauge recorded a maximum tide level of 7.22 feet mean lower low water (MLLW) and shallow flooding was observed in the Charleston area.
By Thursday, September 26, a weak surface trough moved over the area as another cold front approached the southern Appalachians. Temperatures were more than fifteen degrees above normal for the end of September. Multiple daily high temperature records were broken, including a value of 96 degrees at the NWS station located at the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport, which surpassed the previous record of 91 degrees set back in 1986. The summer-like heat continued into Friday, with temperatures in the mid to upper 90's across the state, nearly 20 degrees above normal in some locations. Because of the heat and increasing moisture across the region clear skies gave way to clouds and isolated showers, with some severe thunderstorms, across the Midlands. Storm spotters submitted reports of downed trees in Calhoun County near Gaston, along I-20 near Elgin in Kershaw County, and near Rembert in Sumter County. The Charleston Harbor tidal gauge observed an astronomical high tide value of 7.27 ft. MLLW on Thursday evening and 7.62 ft. MLLW on Friday night.
With high pressure in control of the weather pattern, the dry and hot conditions persisted into the weekend. Both low and high temperatures records were tied or broken across the state, as temperatures were up to fifteen degrees above normal. The cycle of King Tides continued along the coast and the Charleston Harbor tidal gauge observed astronomical high tide values of 7.19 ft. MLLW and 7.62 ft. on Saturday and 7.44 ft. MLLW and 7.30 ft. MLLW on Sunday. Due to the lack of rainfall over the past few weeks, the drought conditions intensified across the state, which was reflected in the designations provided by the US Drought Monitor.
(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 | 0.00 | 26.94 | -6.3 |
| Greer Airport | 0.01 | 36.48 | 0.5 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.00 | 39.33 | 7.5 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.31 | 27.59 | -7.9 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.34 | 18.55 | -18.6 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.26 | 36.01 | 1.9 |
| Florence Airport | 0.00 | 32.98 | -1.3 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.00 | 42.57 | 0.9 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 36.05 | -5.7 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.09 | 31.07 | -7.9 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 80 degrees. Columbia: 83 degrees. Barnwell: 75 degrees. Mullins: 73 degrees.
Most of the rainfall over the seven days fell in the Upstate, mainly through portions of Greenville, Oconee and Pickens counties, where observers reported up to two inches of rain, and with most of those totals the result of one event. Rainfall totals in the Upstate over the last 30- to 60-days are well below normal. Outside of the localized portions of the Upstate, less than half an inch of rain was recorded across the remainder of the state. Streamflow values continued to drop in many of the state's streams and rivers, with several reported flows in the southern portion of the state well below normal for this time of year. The USGS river gauges show below normal to much below normal flows on their 14-day flow product along much of the Savannah (despite being regulated) and in portions of the ACE and Santee Basins. At the time of this report, the real-time streamflow values are much below normal across the ACE Basin in the Lowcountry and along the Savannah. Elsewhere in the state, many gauges are reporting below normal flows and those that are reporting ‘normal' flows are in the lower range of the percentile bracket. Portions of Allendale, Barnwell and Hampton counties in the Lowcountry, along with portions of Orangeburg County, continue to be the driest areas of the state, reporting less than twenty-five inches since the beginning of the year. Totals of over forty inches were present along the immediate coast of the southern coastal counties while interior locations within those counties measured lower amounts.
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 81.9 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 81.5 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 82.0 degrees.
