The unsettled weather pattern continued on Monday, May 12, as a warm front lifted across the state, bringing periods of rain and isolated thunderstorms. The National Weather Service (NWS) Columbia Office confirmed that an early morning severe thunderstorm produced an EF1 tornado, with winds estimated at up to 105 mph in Aiken County near Langley. Additional wind damage was reported throughout Aiken County. Later on Monday, a weak EF0 tornado touched down in Abbeville County near Calhoun Falls. Due to the rain and cloud cover, maximum temperatures dropped to ten degrees below normal, with highs in the low to mid-70s. Temperatures warmed slightly on Tuesday, with highs reaching the upper 70s to low 80s. More rain and thunderstorms developed throughout the day as a cold front moved through the region, and the rainfall from the previous weekend, along with the rain on Monday and Tuesday, caused flash flooding in parts of Greenwood, Hampton, Laurens, Lexington, Richland, and Orangeburg counties.
The cold front moved offshore on Wednesday, May 14, causing lingering showers and scattered thunderstorms. Golf-ball-sized hail was reported near Manning in Clarendon County. With plenty of sunshine in the afternoon, temperatures climbed into the low to mid-80s. High pressure and upper ridging contributed to quiet and humid conditions. The warming trend continued, with maximum temperatures reaching the lower 80s in the Upstate and nearing 90 degrees in the Coastal Plain. Friday was the hottest day of the period, with highs hitting the low to mid-90s outside the Upstate, and due to the humidity, heat indices surpassed 100 degrees. The NWS station at the Florence Regional Airport recorded a high temperature of 95 degrees, breaking the previous daily record maximum temperature of 93 degrees set in 2022.
Headed into the weekend, the warm and humid conditions persisted, with a few showers and thunderstorms as a cold front approached and stalled over the state. Severe thunderstorms produced golf-ball-sized hail in Gowensville and Campobello early Saturday morning.
(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 | 1.70 | 15.77 | -2.2 |
| Greer Airport | 2.91 | 19.70 | -0.9 |
| Charlotte, NC Airport | 1.06 | 13.57 | -2.7 |
| Columbia Metro Airport | 2.56 | 16.85 | 1.7 |
| Orangeburg 2 (COOP) | 1.57 | 16.64 | -0.5 |
| Augusta, GA Airport | 2.08 | 15.40 | -0.7 |
| Florence Airport | 1.07 | 12.57 | -1.7 |
| North Myrtle Beach Airport | 0.94 | 10.75 | -3.5 | Charleston Air Force Base | 0.80 | 10.63 | -4.1 |
| Savannah, GA Airport | 2.23 | 14.42 | -0.4 |
| *Weekly precipitation totals ending midnight Sunday. M - denotes total with missing values. s - denotes total with suspect data. |
4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia: 72 degrees. Barnwell: 68 degrees. Mullins: 65 degrees.
There was additional rainfall during the period, with most of the state recording at least half an inch of rain. There were widespread totals over two inches of rain reported in portions of Anderson, Greenville, Laurens, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties, and a few CoCoRaHS observers measured up to four inches of rain. Some isolated spots in the Coastal Plain measured up to two inches of rain. The rainfall during the recent periods continued to help improve short-term drought conditions and reduce the year-to-date precipitation deficits at many locations. The U.S. Drought Monitor map, released on Thursday, May 20, showed additional improvements in parts of the Midlands and Upstate. However, portions of Berkeley, Charleston, Georgetown, and Horry counties remained in severe drought (D2) due to the long duration of dry conditions before the rain as well as persistent low streamflow values.
With additional rain falling across the headwaters of the state's river basins, the 14-day average streamflow values have risen to above normal levels, with many rivers showing significant flow improvements over the past two weeks. However, despite improved flows, some gauges in parts of the Pee Dee Basin continued to report below-normal values, including the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry and the Waccamaw River at Longs. The height levels at some river gauges rose into minor and moderate flood stages, and were slowly starting to fall by the end of the period. Tidal gauges remained below flood stage.
