SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER AND CLIMATE

December 25 - December 31, 2006

WEATHER SUMMARY

Christmas Day Monday dawned grey and wet. Florence set a date rainfall record, measuring 2.20 inches. Areas of dense fog were observed forming during the evening and overnight. Fast drying was reported Tuesday on winds that gusted to 41 mph at the Charleston Waterfront Park. Walhalla reported snow flurries with the departing precipitation. Sunny, seasonal weather Wednesday and Thursday was replaced by a mild and moist airmass for the weekend. Passing showers, some with embedded thunder fell across the state's highest elevations Saturday and Sunday. Locations near the coast ended the year with partly sunny, 70-degree warmth. For the period, the state average temperature was six degrees above normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 75 degrees at Summerville on December 31. The lowest official temperature reported was 25 degrees at Hunts Bridge on the morning of December 28. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 3.01 inches at Ridgeville ending at 7:00 a.m. on December 26. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 1.6 inches.

PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE DATA

                           
                                                       
                           Precipitation                    
                       Weekly   Jan 1  Deviation     
                        Total   Total   From Avg
         Greer           2.37   41.80     -8.4
      Columbia           1.04   43.19     -5.1
    Orangeburg           1.11   39.02     -9.3 
 Charlotte, NC           1.32   44.42      0.9             	
   Augusta, GA           2.39   40.97     -3.6  
      Florence           2.34   48.47      3.7
  Myrtle Beach           1.96   54.50      8.8
    Charleston           0.63   49.31     -2.2     
  Savannah, GA           1.34   34.47    -15.1








Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.  

SOIL: 4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 57 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 57 degrees.