February 2018 Climate Summary

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Columbia SC
1231 PM EST Fri Mar 9 2018

...February 2018 Climate Summary...


...Warmest February on Record at both Augusta and Columbia...
...Temperatures Averaged Around 10 Degrees Above Normal...
...First River Flooding Since May 2017...
...Several Record Temperatures set at both Augusta and Columbia...
...Rainfall near or below normal for the month...


February will be remembered for the record warmth that occurred
throughout the month. It was the warmest February on record at
both Augusta and Columbia. Both stations set several daily record
temperatures during the month. Rainfall during the month was near
normal across the western and northern Midlands, but below normal
across the central and southern Midlands along with much of the
Central Savannah River Area. Heavy rainfall across western and
central North Carolina and the Upstate on February 4th into early
February 5th produced river flooding along the Congaree River.
The last river flooding events occurred back in May of 2017.


Here are the top 5 warmest February average temperatures for both
Augusta and Columbia.

At Augusta:
1. 60.0 degrees in 2017
2. 58.8 degrees in 1927
3. 58.5 degrees in 1890
4. 58.3 degrees in 2017
5. 57.2 degrees in 1884

At Columbia:
1. 59.8 degrees in 2018
2. 57.6 degrees in 1927 and 1890
4. 57.2 degrees in 2017
5. 56.1 degrees in 1990


...Augusta Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at Augusta Regional Bush Field for
February was 60.0 degrees or 10.9 degrees above the normal of
49.1 degrees.

...Columbia Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at Columbia Metro Airport for February
was 59.8 degrees or 11.3 degrees above the normal of 48.5
degrees.

...Orangeburg Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at the Orangeburg County Airport for
February was 59.8 degrees or 10.2 degrees above the normal of
49.6 degrees.


...Augusta Rainfall...

Augusta Bush Field received 1.57 inches of rainfall during
February. Normal is 3.92 inches.

...Columbia Rainfall...

Columbia Metro Airport received 1.61 inches of rainfall during
February. Normal is 3.61 inches

...Orangeburg Rainfall...

Orangeburg County Airport received 1.26 inches of rainfall during
February. Normal is 3.59 inches


Here are some of the highest monthly rainfall CoCoRaHS Reports
for February:

SC-NW-11 Silverstreet 5.7 WNW.....4.87 inches
SC-NW-13 Newberry 1.0 N...........4.49 inches
SC-LN-8  Lancaster 0.4 WSW........4.02 inches
SC-NW-12 Prosperity 4.7 ENE.......3.79 inches
SC-LN-2  Fort Mill 3.5 ENE........3.69 inches

GA-CU-9  Appling 2.0 SE...........2.88 inches
GA-MD-1  Thomson 2.5 S............2.81 inches
GA-CU-14 Grovetown 4.5 NNW........2.55 inches
GA-BK-1  Waynesboro 3.3 SW........2.12 inches
GA-RC-9  West Augusta 0.9 NW......1.98 inches


Here are some of the highest/lowest NWS Coop Observer monthly
rainfall reports for February:

NWYS1 Newberry WKDK...............3.86 inches
CHPS1 Lake Greenwood..............3.20 inches
THMG1 Thomson 1.5 SSE.............2.92 inches
WNBS1 Winnsboro...................2.81 inches
LIMS1 Little Mountain.............2.74 inches


Highest Wind Gusts at ASOS Sites during February:

Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............49 mph on the 4th
Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......41 mph on the 4th
Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........38 mph on the 16th
Columbia Hamilton Owens Field (CUB)...34 mph on the 25th
Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............34 mph on the 25th.


Highest Wind Gusts on the area lakes during February:

Lake Murray Flotilla Island (LMFS1)...38 mph on the 7th
Lake Wateree (WATS1)..................36 mph on the 25th
Lake Murray Towers USGS (IRMS1).......36 mph on the 7th
Lake Thurmond Dam (CHDS1).............34 mph on the 4th
Lake Murray Dam (RCWINDS).............34 mph on the 7th


Lake Murray Water Temperatures at The Towers:

Warmest...60.3 degrees on February 25th
Coolest...48.6 degrees on February 4th, 5th and 13th


TEMPERATURE RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH OF
February:

Augusta...
20th...New record high temperature. High was was 83 degrees,
previous record was 82 in 2014.

21st...New record high minimum temperature. Low was 66 degrees,
previous record was 59 in 1991. Also the warmest February low
temperature for the month, previous was 65 in February 27, 1944.


21st...New record high temperature. High was 86 degrees, previous
record was 80 in 2011. Also, tied the warmest February high
temperature for the month, also occurred in February 22, 1962.

22nd...Tied the record high temperature of 83 degrees set in 2011.

24th...Tied the record high temperature of 84 degrees set in 2017.


COLUMBIA...
11th...New record high minimum temperature. Low was 62 degrees,
previous record was 59 in 1932.

16th...New record high minimum temperature. Low was 64 degrees,
previous record was 63 in 1990.

21st...New record high minimum temperature. Low was 67 degrees,
previous record was 60 in 1990. Also, the warmest February low
temperature for the month, previous was 65 in February 10th, 1939
and February 18th, 1891.

21st...New Record high temperature. High was 83 degrees, previous
record was 81 in 1997.

22nd...New record high minimum temperature. Low was 63 degrees,
previous record was 58 in 2017.

22nd...New record high temperature. High was 83 degrees, previous
record was 81 in 2011.

23rd...Tied the record high temperature of 82 degrees set in 1962.

24th...New record high temperature. High was 83 degrees, previous
record was 82 in 2017.

25th...New record high minimum temperature. Low was 63 degrees,
previous record was 61 in 1993.



Events for February 2018...

February 4th...
Heavy showers and a few strong thunderstorms produced strong winds
across portions of the Midlands and CSRA. Tree were reported down
in Richland County and Columbia County.

Here are some of the highest wind gusts recorded:
Augusta Bush field.............49 mph
Williams Brice Stadium.........44 mph
Thomson McDuffie County Arpt...43 mph
Orangeburg County Arpt.........40 mph
Columbia Metro Arpt............36 mph



February 8th - 11th...
Heavy rainfall on the 4th and 5th of February across western and
central North Carolina and the Upstate produced high flows and
minor river flooding along the Congaree River.

The Congaree River at Columbia (COLS1), crested at 11.27 feet on
the 9th. Action stage for Columbia is 10.0 feet and Flood stage is
19.0 feet. This produced some flooding along the Cayce and West
Columbia Riverwalk.

The Congaree River at Carolina Eastman (CEAS1) crested at 116.8
feet on the 9th. Flood stage is 115.0 feet. This produced some
minor river flooding.

The Congaree River at the Congaree National Park (GADS1) crested
at 15.98 feet on the 10th. Flood stage is 15.0 feet. This produced
some minor river flooding. Flooding occurred in portions of the
Congaree National Park that included the boardwalk and some
trails. The stream gage along Cedar Creek within the park crested
at 8.52 feet on the 11th.

Here are some rainfall reports from the 5th:
Pomaria 2 SW...................1.60 inches CoCoRaHS
Winnsboro Water Plant..........1.40 inches NWS Coop
Lancaster 1 NNW................1.37 inches CoCoRaHS
Saluda 3 ENE...................1.37 inches CoCoRaHS
Pageland 9 WNW.................1.36 inches CoCoRaHS
Saluda.........................1.33 inches CoCoRaHS
Lancaster......................1.32 inches CoCoRaHS
Chapin 2.9 SSE.................1.22 inches CoCoRaHS
Blythewood 3 ENE...............1.20 inches CoCoRaHS
Chapin 1 S.....................1.19 inches CoCoRaHS


February 19th - 24th...
Cool high pressure and abundant low level moisture across the area
produced several days with dense fog across the Midlands and CSRA
each morning. Many areas reported visibilities less than one
quarter mile.



YEAR TO DATE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION STATISTICS...

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2015/2016/2017 MONTHLY AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

         AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP    NORM  DEPARTURE
JAN 2016  55.1/-0.9      33.6/-0.1      44.3      44.8    -0.5
FEB       60.1/-0.2      37.9/+1.1      49.0      48.5    +0.5
MAR       75.0/+6.8      49.8/+6.8      62.4      55.6    +6.8
APR       78.1/+1.8      53.6/+3.2      65.8      63.4    +2.4
MAY       83.4/-0.4      61.9/+2.4      72.7      71.7    +1.0
JUN       94.2/+4.2      71.7/+3.5      83.0      79.1    +3.9
JUL       99.2/+6.5      75.2/+3.6      87.2      82.2    +5.0
AUG       93.8/+3.1      74.8/+3.8      84.3      80.8    +3.5
SEP       89.2/+4.0      69.6/+5.4      79.4      74.7    +4.7
OCT       80.5/+4.4      56.0/+3.9      68.3      64.1    +4.2
NOV       70.6/+3.3      41.8/-0.5      56.2      54.8    +1.4
DEC       59.6/+1.4      39.9/+4.6      49.7      46.7    +3.0

JAN 2017  64.5/+8.5      43.0/+9.3      53.7      44.8    +8.9
FEB       71.4/+11.1     43.1/+6.3      57.2      48.5    +8.7
MAR       70.9/+2.7      44.1/+1.1      57.5      55.6    +1.9
APR       81.0/+4.7      57.7/+7.3      69.4      63.4    +6.0
MAY       85.2/+1.4      61.9/+2.4      73.6      71.7    +1.9
JUN       89.3/-0.7      70.1/+1.9      79.7      79.1    +0.6
JUL       93.7/+1.0      73.5/+1.9      83.6      82.2    +1.4
AUG       91.4/+0.7      73.2/+2.2      82.3      80.8    +1.5
SEP       88.6/+3.4      65.6/+1.4      77.1      74.7    +2.4
OCT       80.3/+4.2      55.8/+3.7      68.0      64.1    +3.9
NOV       70.1/+1.0      40.9/-0.5      55.5      55.2    +0.3
DEC       59.8/+1.6      39.4/+4.1      49.6      46.7    +2.9

JAN 2018  55.5/-0.5      30.5/-3.2      43.0      44.8    -1.8
FEB       70.1/+9.8      49.6/+12.8     59.8      48.5   +11.3

AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2015/2016/2017 MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

         AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP    NORM  DEPARTURE
JAN 2016  55.3/-2.6      33.1/+0.3     44.2       45.4    -1.2
FEB       61.7/-0.6      37.9/+2.0     49.8       49.0    +0.7
MAR       74.4/+4.5      47.1/+5.1     60.8       55.9    +4.9
APR       77.5/+0.2      50.1/+2.0     63.8       62.7    +1.2
MAY       83.2/-1.8      58.2/+0.9     70.7       71.1    -0.4
JUN       92.2/+1.2      68.8/+2.6     80.5       78.6    +1.9
JUL       97.5/+4.1      71.7/+1.9     84.6       81.6    +3.0
AUG       94.2/+2.4      72.1/+2.8     83.1       80.2    +2.6
SEP       88.9/+2.2      66.0/+3.4     77.4       74.6    +2.8
OCT       82.5/+4.8      53.8/+2.8     68.2       64.4    +3.8
NOV       73.4/+4.3      41.2/-0.2     57.3       55.2    +2.1
DEC       62.4/+2.4      41.8/+7.3     52.4       47.2    +5.2

JAN 2017  67.5/+9.6      43.5/+10.7    55.5       45.4   +10.1
FEB       73.2/+10.9     43.4/+7.5     58.3       49.1    +9.2
MAR       73.7/+3.8      43.8/+1.8     58.8       55.9    +2.9
APR       83.2/+5.9      55.4/+7.3     69.3       62.7    +6.6
MAY       87.1/+2.1      61.1/+3.8     74.1       71.1    +3.0
JUN       90.8/-0.2      69.4/+3.2     80.1       78.6    +1.5
JUL       94.3/+0.9      72.9/+3.1     83.6       81.6    +2.0
AUG       91.7/-0.1      72.8/+3.5     82.3       80.5    +1.8
SEP       87.4/+2.7      64.0/+1.4     76.7       74.6    +2.1
OCT       82.4/+4.7      54.7/+3.7     68.5       64.4    +4.1
NOV       68.9/+1.6      42.4/+0.1     55.6       54.8    +0.8
DEC       60.4/+0.4      38.8/+4.3     49.6       47.2    +2.4

JAN 2018  57.1/-0.8      29.2/-3.6     43.1       45.4    -2.3
FEB       71.6/+9.3      48.4/+12.5    60.0       49.1   +10.9

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2015/2016/2017 MONTHLY
PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2016       1.94     3.58    -1.64
FEB            4.69     3.61    +1.08
MAR            1.88     3.73    -1.85
APR            2.80     2.62    +0.18
MAY            2.61     2.97    -0.36
JUN            2.39     4.69    -2.30
JUL            1.79     5.46    -3.67
AUG            4.83     5.26    -0.43
SEP            6.81     3.54    +3.27
OCT            2.09     3.27    -1.18
NOV            2.01     2.74    -0.73
DEC            3.35     3.22    +0.13
ANNUAL        39.55    44.59    -5.04

JAN 2017       7.04     3.58    +3.46
FEB            1.60     3.61    -2.01
MAR            2.38     3.73    -1.35
APR            6.11     2.62    +3.49
MAY            7.15     2.97    +4.18
JUN            5.13     4.69    +0.44
JUL            5.42     5.46    -0.04
AUG            1.92     5.26    -3.34
SEP            4.55     3.54    +1.01
OCT            1.57     3.17    -1.60
NOV            1.28     2.74    -1.46
DEC            3.29     3.22    +0.07

JAN 2018       2.42     3.58    -1.16
FEB            1.61     3.61    -2.00

AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2015/2016/2017 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2016       1.66     3.91     -2.25
FEB            3.76     3.92     -0.16
MAR            3.18     4.18     -1.00
APR            4.42     2.84     +1.58
MAY            5.71     2.65     +3.06
JUN            2.87     4.72     -1.85
JUL            1.31     4.33     -3.02
AUG            3.66     4.32     -0.66
SEP            6.81     3.54     +3.27
OCT            4.45     3.17     +1.28
NOV            0.62     2.82     -2.20
DEC            4.41     3.39     +1.02
ANNUAL        38.27    43.57     -5.02

JAN 2017      10.13     3.91     +6.22
FEB            2.11     3.92     -1.81
MAR            1.77     4.18     -2.41
APR            2.60     2.84     -0.24
MAY            3.14     2.65     +0.69
JUN            3.52     4.72     -1.20
JUL            5.04     4.33     +0.71
AUG            5.87     4.32     +1.55
SEP            4.28     3.22     +1.06
OCT            0.83     3.27     -2.44
NOV            1.36     2.82     -1.46
DEC            4.11     3.39     +0.72

JAN 2018       2.09     3.91     -1.82
FEB            1.57     3.92     -2.35


The 3-Month Outlook for Spring
(March/April/May)...

The outlook calls for a 40 percent chance of above normal
temperatures along with equal chances of above, below or normal
precipitation.

Go to the Climate Prediction Center web page at
www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov for more details and the latest outlooks.

ENSO (EL NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION)...
...La Nina Advisory...

Equatorial sea surface temperatures are below average
across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. A transition from La
Nina to ENSO-neutral is most likely during the Northern Hemisphere
Spring. There is a 55% chance of ENSO-neutral during the March
through May season.

Climate Outlooks and ENSO Discussions courtesy of NOAA Climate
Prediction Center...www.cpc.noaa.gov .

Note...much appreciation goes out to our NWS Cooperative Weather
Observers...CoCoRaHS (Community...Collaborative...Rain...Hail and
Snow Network) Observers...South Carolina State Climate Office...
Southeast Regional Climate Center...Richland County Emergency
Services...USGS and local weather partners for the data they provide
throughout the year. Their hard work and dedication is greatly
appreciated.

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