On Monday, June 30, the week began with above-normal temperatures, featuring lows in the 70s and highs in the upper 80s to mid-90s, accompanied by a few isolated showers and thunderstorms. The National Weather Service station at North Myrtle Beach Airport reported a new daily high minimum temperature of 78 degrees on Tuesday morning, breaking the previous record of 77 degrees set in 2019. An approaching weak cold front increased rain chances, and severe thunderstorms caused wind damage in parts of Cherokee, Greenville, and Spartanburg counties on Tuesday afternoon. By Wednesday morning, rainfall totals of up to 1.50 inches had been recorded in scattered areas north of the Fall Line, with isolated pockets reaching two inches. The weak front stalled over the region, producing scattered showers and thunderstorms on Thursday, with locally heavy rain across the Coastal Plain. Lightning struck a tree near Folly Field in Beaufort County, causing a limb to fall and strike a person. There was also a report of over two inches of rain in about an hour from a storm near Hilton Head Island. While temperatures on Independence Day were near normal, with highs in the mid-90s inland, the increased moisture across the region caused heat indices to reach nearly 100 degrees at some locations across the state.
Tropical Depression Three developed on Friday, July 4, along a stalled front draped across north Florida and the Georgia and South Carolina coast, producing higher rain chances in the Coastal Plain, gusty winds due to the low and the tight pressure gradient, and an enhanced risk for rip currents. A 34-year-old man died from a rip current, and several others were rescued from the same rip current near Fripp Island. Tropical Depression Three was upgraded to Tropical Storm Chantal late Saturday morning, and tropical storm warnings were issued for the entire South Carolina coast. Dangerous marine, surf, and rip current impacts continued. A lake wind advisory was issued for most of the Midlands and Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie for Saturday. Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall near Litchfield Beach around 4 AM EDT on Sunday, July 6, with sustained winds of 50 mph. Chantal weakened to a tropical depression as it moved further inland, and all Tropical Storm Warnings along the coast were canceled. Heavy rain moved out of the Pee Dee region through Sunday, reducing the threat of localized flooding. The highest wind gust of 54 mph was recorded at WFXB-TV early Sunday morning, and a 48-mph gust was reported at the NWS station at North Myrtle Beach Airport. Rainfall totals of one to four inches were reported in parts of Charleston, Georgetown, and Horry counties. The storm caused the heaviest rainfall in North Carolina, which could affect South Carolina rivers in the coming period. Rough surf and hazardous maritime conditions persisted on Sunday, with high surf and small craft advisories remaining in effect throughout the day. Colleton County Emergency Management reported that two people were rescued from a rip current on Edisto Island and transported to a local hospital.
(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 | 0.18 | 20.74 | -3.9 |
| Greer Airport | 1.01 | 26.09 | 0.8 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.23 | 19.02 | -3.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.02 | 23.72 | 1.1 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.39 | 27.78 | 2.2 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.02 | 22.97 | -0.2 |
| Florence Airport | 1.44 | 19.64 | -2.0 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 3.50 | 19.90 | -0.7 | Charleston Air Force Base | 1.99 | 18.61 | -5.2 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.21 | 21.11 | -3.3 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia: 81 degrees. Barnwell: 82 degrees. Mullins: 71 degrees.
Rainfall totals during the period ranged from less than half an inch in parts of the Central Savannah River Area to over four inches near the South Carolina and North Carolina border in the Pee Dee. A weak cold front brought rain earlier in the period, with the highest rainfall from Tropical Storm Chantal mainly falling across parts of Dillon, Horry, and Marion counties. Radar estimates and CoCoRaHS observers reported between two and five inches of rain. The tropical storm also produced between one and two inches of rain in some areas of the Lowcountry.
The 14-day average streamflow values at many gauges across the state continued to show normal to above-normal levels. However, due to higher rainfall during the period in the Coastal Plain, additional gauges in the headwaters of the Broad and Saluda River basins reported flows below normal. With more than six inches of rain falling in parts of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River basin in North Carolina, the river height gauges on the Lumber River near Nichols and the Little Pee Dee River near Galivants Ferry showed rising river heights, nearing the action stage by the end of the period. The tidal gauges at Charleston Harbor and Springmaid Pier recorded action stage levels on July 5 and July 6 because of Tropical Storm Chantal.
