Cold, dry high pressure was in place over the state to start the week. On Monday, January 15, Ninety Nine Islands started the week with a morning low of 14 degrees. Orangeburg reached an afternoon high temperature of 50 degrees. Southerly winds and clear skies on Tuesday, ahead of an approaching cold front, warmed Charleston to 59 degrees after a morning low temperature of 27 degrees. Caesars Head had a Tuesday morning low temperature of 16 degrees.
A cold front swept over the state on Wednesday, January 17 and brought 1-4 inches of snow to the Upstate, and light rain and snow flurries to the Midlands. Ninety Nine Islands recorded a morning low temperature of 15 degrees while the North Myrtle Beach Airport had a high temperature of 55 degrees and received 0.07 of an inch of rain. Columbia Metro Airport reached 45 degrees ahead of the cold front and recorded 0.16 inches of rain and a trace of snow that fell just after noon. Selected Upstate snowfall totals:
| County | Location | Snowfall (in.) |
|---|---|---|
| Spartanburg | Wellford | 4.5 |
| Spartanburg | Landrum | 4.0 |
| Cherokee | Mayo | 3.0 |
| Spartanburg | Greer | 3.0 |
| Greenville | Simpsonville | 2.0 |
| York | McConnells | 1.6 |
| Greenville | Fountain Inn | 1.5 |
| Abbeville | Antreville | 1.0 |
| Oconee | Walhalla | 1.0 |
| Lexington | Columbia Metro | Trace |
Clear skies returned Thursday, January 18. Chesnee reported a morning low temperature of 5 degrees. The Charleston Air Force Base reached a high temperature of 47 degrees. On Friday, Chesnee reported another low morning temperature of 6 degrees and 2.0 inches of snow still on the ground. Orangeburg warmed to 64 degrees under clear skies and southwest winds.
High pressure and clear skies dominated the weekend's weather. The Lancaster COOP station reported a Saturday morning temperature of 8 degrees. On Sunday, Columbia Metro posted a 73-degree afternoon high temperature after a 31 degree morning start. The week's dry conditions exacerbated the state's drought conditions and low stream flow.
(Note: The highest and lowest official temperatures and highest precipitation totals provided below are based on observations from the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer network and the National Weather Service's Forecast Offices.)
The highest official temperature reported was 75 degrees at Orangeburg 2 on January 21.
The lowest official temperature reported was 5 degrees at Chesnee on January 18.
The heaviest official 24-hour precipitation reported was 0.75 inches at Lancaster 4.0 S for the period ending on the morning of January 17.
The state average precipitation for the seven-day period was 0.1 inches.
| Weekly* | Since Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Airport | 0.06 | 1.54 | -1.1 |
| Greer Airport | 0.29 | 1.79 | -0.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.38 | 0.96 | -1.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.16 | 0.73 | -1.7 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.05 | 0.57 | -2.0 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.02 | 0.75 | -1.9 |
| Florence Airport | 0.03 | 0.59 | -1.6 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.07 | 1.92 | -0.4 |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 1.26 | -1.3 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.00 | 0.66 | -1.8 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 44 degrees. Columbia: 48 degrees. Barnwell: 39 degrees. Mullins: 43 degrees
Upstate river stages were below normal to much below normal.
Midlands and Pee Dee river stages were much below normal .
Lowcountry river stages were below normal to normal.
Charleston Harbor water temperature: 46.2 degrees.
Fripp Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 47.3 degrees.
