WEEKLY SOUTH CAROLINA WEATHER 2011

May 16, 2011 - May 22, 2011

WEATHER SUMMARY:

An upper level feature drifted near South Carolina on Monday with cloudy, cool weather and pockets of heavy rainfall. On Tuesday morning, Neal Shoals, located on the Broad River separating Union and Chester counties, measured a 24-hour rainfall total of 1.90 inches. The Marlboro County Jetport recorded a minimum barometric pressure value of 29.55 inches of mercury at 8:15 a.m. While a sunny Beaufort reported a mild 78 degrees during the Tuesday afternoon hours, a cloudy Greenville could only reach 56 degrees. At 6:10 p.m., an isolated storm near Oakway produced one-inch diameter hail that covered the ground. Galivants Ferry received 0.86 inches of rain. Walterboro cooled to 46 degrees on Wednesday morning and Newberry reported a high temperature of just 68 degrees. Mostly sunny weather returned for the southern counties on Thursday with Beaufort, Allendale and Hardeeville warming to 85 degrees. The Pee Dee and north coast reported late-exiting rain showers on Friday morning. The North Myrtle Beach AP received the heaviest of the amounts with 1.48 inches. Light winds and all-day sunshine sent the state's weekend afternoon temperatures to their highest since September 25, 2010. It was 96 degrees at Givhans on Saturday and 99 degrees at Allendale on Sunday. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was two degrees below normal.

The highest official temperature reported was 100 degrees at Barnwell on May 22. The lowest official temperature reported was 42 degrees at Long Creek on May 18. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.40 inches at Catawba ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 17. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.6 inches.

PRECIPITATION:

                            Precipitation                                                      
                       Weekly   Jan 1   Departure     
                        Total   Total   from Avg
         Greer           0.73   18.39     -2.4
      Anderson           0.12   14.61     -5.2
      Columbia           0.40   14.84     -3.3
    Orangeburg           0.35   14.54     -3.7
 Charlotte, NC           2.02   16.36     -1.1
   Augusta, GA           0.90   14.93     -3.3
      Florence           0.29   13.76     -2.4
N Myrtle Beach           1.66   15.28      0.2
    Charleston           0.00   10.18     -6.1
  Savannah, GA           0.04   11.73     -4.5

Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.

SOIL:

4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 78 degrees, Charleston 81 degrees.

RIVERS AND SURF:

South Carolina river stages were near to below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 77 degrees.