The weather pattern for the week was controlled by a high-pressure system off the Atlantic Coast that ridged into the Carolinas, bringing above normal temperatures and limited rainfall across the state.
The tranquil weather week started on Monday, October 1, with the National Weather Service (NWS) station in Long Creek breaking the highest minimum temperature record, 64 degrees set in 1965, for the day with 66 degrees. The drier airmass helped to provide lower humidity values, but maximum temperatures reached 91 degrees in Jamestown, Orangeburg and Summerville. The following day, Tuesday, October 2, stations across South Carolina observed maximum and minimum temperatures of 5 degrees above normal, as the high pressure continued to control the overall weather pattern. The CoCoRaHS station at Daufuskie Island 1.7 SW in Beaufort County reported 0.09 inches of rainfall and was one of 11 stations that reported measurable precipitation across the state for the day.
The surface and aloft high-pressure produced sunny skies and continued to limit rain chances on Wednesday, October 3. The most precipitation reported for the date came from the CoCoRaHS stations at Green Pond 1.3 S (Colleton County) and Okatie (Beaufort County) which reported over 0.10 inches of rainfall. The NWS station in Orangeburg recorded a maximum temperature of 94 degrees, which is 15 degrees above the normal of 79 degrees. Statewide, the minimum temperature values reported were nearly 10 degrees above normal. On the morning of Thursday, October 4, the NWS station located at the Greenville Downtown Airport observed a low temperature of 69 degrees, which is 15 degrees above the normal low temperature of 54 degrees. All of the NWS stations and CoCoRaHS stations reported no rainfall during the 24-hour period ending the morning of October 4.
By Friday, October 5, a backdoor cold front began to approach the state, bringing an increased chance of rainfall through the remainder of the week. Some of the maximum temperature records set at NWS stations were tied or broken. Johnston reported 92 degrees, which broke the previous record of 90 degrees, while the stations in Spartanburg and at the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport tied their records of 91 degrees. High temperatures reached the mid-to-upper 90's in portions of the Lowcountry, Midlands and Pee Dee. The NWS station at Batesburg tied the record highest minimum temperature on Saturday, October 6, of 72 degrees, which was set in 1898, and the station at Long Creek reported minimum and maximum temperatures that were 15 degrees above the normal temperatures of 88 and 66 degrees. Thunderstorms over Columbia prompted officials at Williams-Brice Stadium on the University of South Carolina campus to issue an hour-long lightning delay of the game against Missouri. The King Tides began to impact the Charleston area over the weekend and would carry over into the middle of the next week. The Charleston Harbor tidal gauge observed an astronomical high tide value of 7.04 ft. mean lower low water (MLLW) around 6:42 p.m. on Saturday, and a value of 7.45 ft. MLLW at 7:36 p.m. on Sunday, October 7.
Overall, the temperatures during the first seven days of October 2018 were above normal. However, October 1954 and October 1986 still stand out among the NWS COOP stations as two of the hottest starts to any October on record for the state.
As the new work week started, eyes were focused on Hurricane Michael in the Gulf of Mexico and its potential track that could bring strong winds, heavy rains and minor storm surge to South Carolina.
(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 temperature reported was 98 degrees on October 5 in Cades in Williamsburg County.
The lowest temperature reported was 55 degrees at Jocassee in Oconee County on October 4.
The maximum 24-hour precipitation reported was 3.30 inches at the National Weather Service Station in Table Rock (Pickens County) ending at 8:00 a.m. on October 1. This total also stands at the 7-day rainfall total at the station.
The CoCoRaHS Station Slater-Marietta 6.4 NW (SC-GV-81) reported a 24-hour precipitation total of 1.31 inches ending at 8:00 a.m. on October 1.
The state average precipitation for the seven-day period was 0.10 inches.
| Weekly* | Since Jan 1 | Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Airport | 0.00 | 41.44 | 7.3 |
| Greer Airport | 0.00 | 41.78 | 5.0 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | Trace | 40.92 | 8.3 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.00 | 29.33 | -6.9 |
| Orangeburg Airport | 0.06 | 33.50 | -4.6 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.00 | 38.34 | 3.4 |
| Florence Airport | 0.00 | 42.31 | 7.4 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.32 | 51.20 | 8.6/td> |
| Charleston Air Force Base | 0.33 | 40.51 | -2.31 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | Trace | 28.44 | -11.6 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Clinton: 76 degrees. Columbia: 87 degrees. Barnwell: 75 degrees. Mullins: 70 degrees.
Floodwaters from Hurricane Florence along the Pee Dee watershed rivers finally began to recede, and many locations were seeing the river stages drop below major and moderate flood stage for the first time in weeks, though streamflow values were still above normal. Most of the rivers across the state reported stream flows at normal levels for this time of year. Little rainfall fell during the week, with only portions of the Lowcountry and Pee Dee receiving any measurable precipitation. Rainfall totals from 0.25 inch to an inch fell in these areas, with locally heavy amounts up to 2 inches. With the persistent dry conditions during the week, streamflow at some of the small rivers, such as Rocky Creek at Great Falls and Little River near Mt. Carmel, dropped to below normal flows.
Charleston Harbor (CHTS1): 82.2 degrees.
Capers Nearshore Buoy (Station 41029): 81.9 degrees.
Fripps Nearshore Buoy (Station 41033): 81.5 degrees.
