Southwesterly surface winds on Monday brought unseasonably mild temperatures to much of eastern South Carolina. Florence, Lake City, Hartsville and Pinopolis recorded 76 degrees. Showers arrived during the evening hours for counties bordering the upper Savannah River. Twenty-four hour rainfall amounts ending Tuesday morning included 1.08 inches at Lake Russell, 0.71 inches at Antreville and 0.39 inches at Jocassee Dam. Wet weather spread eastward beyond Tuesday and into Wednesday. Lake City and Galivants Ferry reported rainfalls of just over one-quarter of an inch. The absence of sunshine along with steady northeast winds made for a gray and chilly Wednesday. At 3:00 p.m., Grand Strand Airport in N Myrtle Beach reported 48 degrees and northeast winds at 10 gusting to 18 mph. The high temperature at Rock Hill only reached 47 degrees. One of the heavier totals for Wednesday's rains was at Fishing Creek Dam on the Catawba River with 0.82 inches. Slow clearing from the west was observed on Thursday along an eastward-moving boundary of colder air. On Friday morning, Cedar Creek and Kings Mt. State Park reported 25 degrees. Summerville cooled to 34 degrees. With the exception of the lingering, light rains for the coastal plain, mostly sunny skies were reported on Saturday. Sandhill's high temperature climbed to 63 degrees. Unsettled, cloudy weather eased back into the state on Sunday with passing showers. Rainfall was concentrated across the lower Piedmont and north Midlands. The Greenwood airport measured 0.85 inches from 3:00 p.m. to midnight. The state average temperature for the period was six degrees above normal.
The highest official temperature reported was 79 degrees at Hardeeville on December 10. The lowest official temperature reported was 22 degrees at Hunts Bridge on December 14. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.38 inches at Longtown ending at 7:00 a.m. on December 13. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.8 inches.
PRECIPITATION:
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Total Total from Avg
Greer AP 0.95 34.05 -11.3
Anderson AP 0.95 35.41 -6.8
Columbia Metro AP 0.91 40.16 -2.8
Orangeburg AP 0.80 39.11 -6.1
Charlotte, NC AP 0.52 30.46 -9.6
Augusta, GA Bush AP 0.77 32.20 -9.7
Florence AP 1.02 38.82 -2.6
N Myrtle Beach AP 0.58 36.29 -14.2
Charleston AP 0.67 41.08 -8.4
Savannah, GA AP 0.46 38.76 -7.7
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
SOIL:
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 59 degrees, Charleston 60 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF:
South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 57 degrees.
