Most of the state observed afternoon temperatures in the 60's on Monday with some light rain falling over the Upstate and lower Piedmont. Rainfall coverage increased on Tuesday and by Wednesday morning, locations across central South Carolina reported a thorough soaking. Twenty-four-hour amounts included 1.91 inches at Johnston, 1.65 inches at Pelion and 1.16 inches at the McEntire ANG AP. More warming sunshine for Wednesday sent the mercury to 79 degrees at the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station. Daybreak fog for N Myrtle Beach reduced visibilities to less than one-quarter of a mile on Thursday morning. The deep-layer southwesterly flow made for an unseasonably warm and humid late autumn day. Summerville and Jamestown reached 81 degrees. Localized heavy rains fell over the state's highest elevations. The Cleveland CoCoRaHS volunteer measured 1.85 inches and Table Rock measured 1.45 inches. Friday afternoon's blanket of 80-degree temperatures from the Midlands into the coastal plain made for the state's warmest December day since 1998. The Charleston AP established a "date record" high temperature of 82 degrees at 12:59 p.m. A cold front moved up against the warm and wet conditions of Saturday. Orangeburg's 1:00 p.m. temperature of 70 degrees fell 14 degrees to a 2:00 p.m. temperature of 56 and kept falling. The sunset time of 5:15 p.m. at Columbia on Saturday happened with almost no twilight as thick clouds obscured the western horizon. Sunday was gray, wet and cold. At 11:00 a.m., light rain was falling at Greenville, Columbia and Sumter with Charleston reporting drizzle. Both Darlington and Florence reported cloudy skies, 39 degrees and northeast winds of 9 mph at the three o'clock afternoon observation. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was nine degrees above the long-term average.
The highest official temperature reported was 83 degrees at Pinopolis on December 6. The lowest official temperature reported was 27 degrees at Chesnee and Ninety Nine Islands on December 2. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.65 inches at Caesars Head ending at 7:00 a.m. on December 6. The state average rainfall for the seven-day period was 1.0 inches.
PRECIPITATION:
Precipitation
Weekly Jan 1 Departure
Anderson AP 1.19 59.29 18.1
Greer AP 0.86 63.75 19.5
Charlotte, NC AP 0.48 42.97 3.7
Columbia Metro AP 1.60 51.19 9.0
Orangeburg AP 1.33 52.49 8.1
Augusta, GA Bush AP 1.29 49.91 8.9
Florence AP 0.83 51.18 10.6
N Myrtle Beach AP 0.30 47.28 -2.2
Charleston AP 0.42 56.38 7.7
Savannah, GA AP 0.49 52.18 6.5
Weekly rainfall totals ending midnight Sunday.
SOIL:
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 56 degrees, Charleston 62 degrees.
RIVERS AND SURF:
South Carolina river stages were near normal. The ocean water temperature at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach was reported at 54 degrees.
