On Monday, April 14, with high pressure offshore and an approaching cold front from the west, southerly winds provided warm, dry, and breezy conditions. Despite morning temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s, high temperatures climbed into the mid-to-upper 80s, up to fifteen degrees above normal. The warm conditions continued overnight, and the National Weather Service station at the University of South Carolina campus in Richland County reported a low temperature of 73 degrees on Tuesday, breaking the daily record high minimum temperature of 69 degrees set in 1993. Cool air started to filter into the region behind a cold front late Tuesday, but it produced only a few scattered showers in the Pee Dee. High pressure shifted across the country's eastern half on Wednesday, helping moderate temperatures to more normal conditions for mid-April and maintaining dry conditions through Thursday.
High pressure shifted offshore on Friday, creating southerly flow at the surface. A significant warming trend would continue through the weekend. High temperatures were up to fifteen degrees above normal, reaching the mid-to-upper 80s, which felt more like the beginning of June than April. The South Carolina Forestry Commission reported 17 wildfires, with over 150 acres burned during the period. A burn ban was issued for Horry County early Monday, April 21.
(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 | 0.00 | 11.04 | -3.6 |
| Greer Airport | 0.00 | 12.92 | -2.2 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 0.00 | 9.67 | -3.4 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 0.00 | 9.23 | -3.1 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 0.00 | 10.11 | -3.8 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 0.00 | 10.98 | -2.7 |
| Florence Airport | 0.00 | 9.02 | -2.2 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.00 | 6.96 | -4.7 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.00 | 6.04 | -6.0 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 0.00 | 6.81 | -5.1 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia: 62 degrees. Barnwell: 68 degrees. Mullins: 66 degrees.
Most of the state reported no measurable rain during the period, though a few scattered showers produced limited precipitation in parts of the Pee Dee. Despite the lack of rainfall during the period, the U.S. Drought Monitor map, released on Thursday, April 17, showed no changes to drought conditions across the state.
The lack of rainfall caused a decrease in the 14-day average streamflow values in the Broad, Saluda, and Upper Savannah River basins, and some main stems and tributaries of the Saluda and Savannah rivers, such as the Little River at Silverstreet and Twelve Mile Creek near Liberty, registered flows well below normal. Most of the gauges south of the Fall Line also saw a decrease in streamflow values, with some gauges reporting values at the lower end of the normal range, and a few recording values that were below normal. The height levels at the river and the tidal gauges remained below the flood stage.
