February 2013 Climate Summary

...3RD WETTEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD AT AT AUGUSTA...
...FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON ACROSS THE MIDLANDS...
...PRECIPITATION WELL ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH...
...TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH...
...RIVER FLOODING ALONG THE CONGAREE ON THE 28TH...


THE WEATHER PATTERN BECAME QUITE ACTIVE ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE
MONTH OF FEBRUARY. AFTER SUCH A DRY JANUARY ACROSS MUCH OF THE
MIDLANDS AND CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA...THE WIDESPREAD ABUNDANT
RAINFALL WAS A WELCOME DURING THE MONTH. RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGED
FROM 3 TO 10 INCHES WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE
I-20 CORRIDOR. PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA AND
SOUTHERN MIDLANDS RECEIVED 150 TO 300 PERCENT OF NORMAL RAINFALL FOR
THE MONTH. THIS AREA HAS BEEN HIT ESPECIALLY HARD BY THE RECENT
DROUGHT AND THE RAINFALL WAS A WELCOME SIGHT FOR THE REGION. IT WAS
THE 3RD WETTEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD AT AUGUSTA. DURING THE
MONTH...9.40 INCHES OF RAIN FELL AT AUGUSTA REGIONAL BUSH FIELD.
THIS WAS 5.48 INCHES ABOVE THE NORMAL FEBRUARY RAINFALL OF 3.92
INCHES.

HERE ARE THE TOP 5 WETTEST FEBRUARY`S ON RECORD AT AUGUSTA:

1. 10.03 INCHES IN 1899
2.  9.61 INCHES IN 1939
3.  9.40 INCHES IN 2013
4.  8.91 INCHES IN 1929
5.  8.57 INCHES IN 1897

THE REGION ALSO RECEIVED ITS FIRST SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON. ON
FEBRUARY 16TH AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER DISTURBANCE MOVED ACROSS THE
AREA DURING THE MORNING HOURS PRODUCING A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW
ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MIDLANDS. DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING HOURS...THE AXIS OF THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVED ACROSS
THE REGION. THE COLD AIR ALOFT COMBINED WITH A VERY DYNAMIC SYSTEM
TO PRODUCE A MIXTURE OF GRAUPEL...SNOW...SLEET AND RAIN ACCOMPANIED
BY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING AT TIMES. THE CONVECTIVE NATURE OF THE
EVENT PRODUCED SOME RELATIVELY BRIEF BUT HEAVY PRECIPITATION AT
TIMES. THE SYSTEM PRODUCED A BURST OF SNOWFALL ACROSS THE COUNTIES
OF LANCASTER...CHESTERFIELD...FAIRFIELD...KERSHAW AND LEE WHERE 1 TO
NEARLY 4 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. THE NWS COOPERATIVE OBSERVER IN
LONGTOWN...FAIRFIELD COUNTY...REPORTED 3.6 INCHES DURING THE EVENT.
TRACES OF FROZEN PRECIPITATION WERE REPORTED FROM NEWBERRY COUNTY
SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE COLUMBIA METRO AREA INTO SUMTER COUNTY.

TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW NORMAL FOR MUCH OF THE MONTH AT BOTH AUGUSTA
AND COLUMBIA. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT AUGUSTA REGIONAL BUSH FIELD
WAS 47.6 DEGREES OR 1.5 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 49.1 DEGREES.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT WAS 47.7 DEGREES
OR 0.8 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 48.5 DEGREES.

PRECIPITATION WAS QUITE IMPRESSIVE FOR MUCH OF THE AREA DURING THE
MONTH. THE TOTAL RAINFALL AT AUGUSTA REGIONAL BUSH FIELD WAS 9.40
INCHES OR 5.48 INCHES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 3.92 INCHES. THE TOTAL
RAINFALL AT COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT WAS 5.51 INCHES OR 1.90 INCHES
ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 3.61 INCHES.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE IMPRESSIVE RAINFALL TOTALS FROM OUR COCORAHS
AND NWS COOP OBSERVERS:

COCORAHS:

GA-MD-1  THOMSON 2.5 S.......9.33 INCHES
SC-AK-26 AIKEN 2.3 S.........9.23 INCHES
SC-AK-16 AIKEN 8.1 SSW.......9.17 INCHES
SC-BW-3  BARNWELL 1.2 WSW....9.16 INCHES
SC-OR-11 NEESES 7.0 SE.......9.03 INCHES

NWS COOPERATIVE OBSERVERS:

WAYNESBORO GA (WYNG1)........10.19 INCHES
BARNWELL 5 ENE (BNLS1)........9.26 INCHES
BAMBERG (BAMS1)...............8.55 INCHES
ORANGEBURG 2 (ORBS1)..........8.39 INCHES
AIKEN 2 E (AKIS1).............7.72 INCHES


EVENTS DURING FEBRUARY:

FEBRUARY 16TH...FIRST WINTER WEATHER PRECIPITATION EVENT FOR THE
MIDLANDS. THERE WERE TWO PERIODS OF PRECIPITATION THAT COMPRISED THE
EVENT. DURING THE MORNING A BAND OF RAIN AND SNOW THAT EVENTUALLY
CHANGED TO ALL SNOW FOR SOME AREAS...ESPECIALLY NORTH AND NORTHEAST
OF COLUMBIA. SOME AREAS RECEIVED A COATING OF SNOW DURING THE
MORNING...HOWEVER WARM GROUND TEMPERATURE MELTED MUCH OF THE SNOW.
DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS A SECOND BAND OF
PRECIPITATION MOVED ACROSS THE REGION...ESPECIALLY THE NORTHERN AND
NORTHEAST MIDLANDS. AREAS FROM NEWBERRY SOUTHEAST THROUGH COLUMBIA
AND EASTWARD TO SUMTER REPORTED GRAUPEL...SNOW...SLEET AND RAIN
ACCOMPANIED BY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. SOME AREAS RECEIVED A PERIOD
OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW THAT COVERED THE GROUND WITH 1 TO 3
INCHES. SOME OF THE HEAVIEST SNOW FELL FROM EASTERN
FAIRFIELD...SOUTHERN LANCASTER AND CENTRAL KERSHAW COUNTIES.
CAMDEN...WINNSBORO AND LONGTOWN REPORTED 2 TO NEARLY 4 INCHES OF
SNOW.


FEBRUARY 18TH...COLDEST AIR OF THE SEASON PRODUCED MORNING LOWS IN
THE TEENS IN A FEW LOCATIONS. BEHIND THE SNOW EVENT ON THE
16TH...COLD CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SETTLED OVER THE REGION PRODUCING
MORNING LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER TEENS TO LOWER 20S ACROSS MUCH
OF THE AREA.

HERE ARE A FEW OF COLDEST MORNING TEMPERATURES:

CEDAR CREEK (BLYS1) (NWS COOP)............18 DEGREES
PELION (PLNS1) (NWS COOP).................18 DEGREES
LANCASTER COUNTY MCWHIRTER FIELD (KLKR)...19 DEGREES
WINNSBORO (WNBS1) (NWS COOP)..............19 DEGREES
BISHOPVILLE (BSPS1) (NWS COOP)............20 DEGREES
CHERAW WATER PLANT (CEWS1) (NWS COOP).....20 DEGREES


FEBRUARY 28TH...AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN DURING THE LAST WEEK OF
THE MONTH BROUGHT SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN ACROSS THE STATE AND THE
HEADWATERS OF THE AREA RIVERS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGED FROM 2 TO 4
INCHES. THIS PRODUCED SOME MINOR FLOODING ALONG THE CONGAREE RIVER
AT CAROLINA EASTMAN. THE RIVER CRESTED AT 116.5 FEET ON THE
28TH...FLOOD STAGE IS 115.0 FEET. THE CONGAREE RIVER AT COLUMBIA`S
GERVAIS STREET BRIDGE ROSE TO 11.44 FEET. THIS IS WELL BELOW THE
FLOOD STAGE OF 19.0 FEET...BUT HIGH ENOUGH TO PRODUCE SOME FLOODING
ALONG PORTIONS OF THE RIVERWALK IN CAYCE AND WEST COLUMBIA.


BELOW ARE THE HIGHEST RECORDED WIND GUSTS DURING THE MONTH:

AUGUSTA REGIONAL BUSH FIELD (AGS).......43 MPH ON THE 3RD
COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT (CAE)............41 MPH ON THE 1ST AND 3RD
ORANGEBURG COUNTY AIRPORT (OGB).........39 MPH ON THE 3RD
AUGUSTA DANIEL FIELD (DNL)..............35 MPH ON THE 3RD
COLUMBIA HAMILTON-OWENS AIRPORT (CUB)...33 MPH ON THE 3RD


RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH AT COLUMBIA:
NONE...

RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH AT AUGUSTA:
NONE...



YEAR TO DATE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION STATISTICS...

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2012 MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

          AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP   NORM  DEPARTURE
JAN 2012  61.8/+5.8      36.9/+3.2      49.4      44.8    +4.6
FEB       64.1/+3.8      40.3/+3.5      52.2      48.5    +3.7
MAR       77.7/+9.5      53.2/+10.2     65.4      55.6    +9.8
APR       79.3/+3.0      54.7/+4.3      67.0      63.4    +3.6
MAY       85.8/+2.0      64.9/+5.4      75.4      71.7    +3.7
JUN       88.4/-1.6      66.6/-1.6      77.5      79.1    -1.6
JUL       95.8/+3.1      74.2/+2.6      85.0      82.2    +2.8
AUG       89.5/-1.2      71.3/+0.3      80.4      80.8    -0.4
SEP       85.9/+0.7      65.1/+0.9      75.5      74.7    +0.8
OCT       76.6/+0.5      53.4/+1.3      65.0      64.1    +0.9
NOV       65.5/-1.8      42.3/-3.9      52.0      54.8    -2.8
DEC       63.2/+5.0      41.9/+6.6      52.5      46.7    +5.8

2012 AVERAGE TEMPERATURE                66.5      63.9    +2.4

JAN 2013  64.0/+8.0      41.1/+7.4      52.5      44.8    +7.7
FEB       59.2/-1.1      36.2/-0.6      47.7      48.5    -0.8

AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2012 MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND
DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

          AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP  AVG TEMP    NORM  DEPARTURE
JAN 2012  63.4/+5.5      34.3/+1.5     48.8       45.4    +3.4
FEB       65.6/+3.3      39.1/+3.2     52.4       49.1    +3.3
MAR       77.0/+7.1      51.0/+9.0     64.0       55.9    +8.1
APR       79.4/+2.0      51.3/+3.2     65.4       62.7    +2.7
MAY       86.0/+1.0      61.6/+4.3     73.8       71.1    +2.7
JUN       87.6/-3.4      61.8/-4.4     74.7       78.6    -3.9
JUL       96.0/+2.6      71.5/+1.7     83.7       81.6    +2.1
AUG       88.6/-3.2      69.0/-0.3     78.8       80.5    -1.7
SEP       85.4/-1.3      62.2/-0.4     73.8       74.9    -0.8
OCT       77.4/-0.3      52.0/+1.0     64.7       64.4    +0.3
NOV       65.7/-3.4      41.4/-5.3     50.9       55.2    -4.3
DEC       62.7/+2.7      39.3/+4.8     51.0       47.2    +3.8

2012 AVERAGE TEMPERATURE               65.2       63.9    +1.3

JAN 2013 65.4/+7.5       39.4/+6.6     52.4       45.4    +7.0
FEB      59.8/-2.5       35.5/-0.4     47.6       49.1    -1.5


COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2012 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL  DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2012       1.76     3.58    -1.82
FEB            2.46     3.61    -1.15
MAR            2.21     3.73    -1.52
APR            2.28     2.62    -0.34
MAY            4.71     2.97    +1.74
JUN            4.18     4.69    -0.51
JUL            6.96     5.46    +1.50
AUG            9.81     5.26    +4.55
SEP            1.84     3.54    -1.70
OCT            1.42     3.17    -1.75
NOV            1.62     2.74    -1.12
DEC            3.51     3.22    +0.29

2012 TOTAL    42.76    44.59    -1.83

JAN 2013       1.21     3.58    -2.37
FEB            5.51     3.61    +1.90


AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2012 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2012       1.40     3.91     -2.51
FEB            1.12     3.92     -2.80
MAR            2.28     4.18     -1.90
APR            1.45     2.84     -1.39
MAY            4.56     2.65     +1.91
JUN            2.48     4.72     -2.24
JUL            1.54     4.33     -2.79
AUG           12.28     4.32     +7.96
SEP            1.84     3.22     -1.38
OCT            1.36     3.27     -1.91
NOV            1.10     2.82     -1.72
DEC            4.67     3.39     +1.28

2012 TOTAL    36.08    43.57     -7.49

JAN 2013       0.60     3.91     -3.31
FEB            9.40     3.92     +5.48

OUTLOOK FOR MARCH...

THE FORECAST CALLS FOR NEARLY EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE...BELOW OR
NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH. THIS MEANS
THAT THERE IS NOT A CLEAR CLIMATE SIGNAL TO INDICATE CONDITIONS
BEINGS WARMER OR COOLER...WETTER OR DRIER THROUGH THE MONTH.


.NOTE...
MUCH APPRECIATION GOES OUT TO OUR NWS COOPERATIVE WEATHER
OBSERVERS...COCORAHS (COMMUNITY...COLLABORATIVE...RAIN...HAIL AND
SNOW NETWORK) OBSERVERS...SOUTHEAST REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER AND
LOCAL WEATHER PARTNERS FOR THE DATA THEY PROVIDE THROUGHOUT THE
YEAR. THEIR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION IS INVALUABLE.

TEMPERATURE RECORDS FOR COLUMBIA GO BACK TO 1887 AND FOR AUGUSTA
BACK TO 1873. PRECIPITATION RECORDS FOR COLUMBIA GO BACK TO 1878 AND
FOR AUGUSTA BACK TO 1871.

ADDITIONAL CLIMATE INFORMATION...INCLUDING CURRENT AND
ARCHIVED DAILY AND MONTHLY SUMMARIES...CAN BE FOUND ON THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC HOME PAGE AT
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/CAE.

$$