PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
645 AM EDT SAT APR 4 2015
...MARCH 2015 CLIMATE SUMMARY...
...TEMPERATURES ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH...
...RAINFALL BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH...
...STRONG WIND EVENT ON THE 5TH...
...UNSEASONABLY COLD MORNING ON THE 29TH...
AFTER TWO CHILLY MONTHS...THE WARMTH OF MARCH WAS WELCOME TO MANY
ACROSS THE MIDLANDS AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA. THE MILD TEMPERATURES
WERE THE MAIN STORY FOR THE MONTH. THERE WERE NO SEVERE WEATHER
EVENTS...WHICH WAS A BIT UNUSUAL FOR MARCH. THERE WERE ONLY 8 DAYS
DURING THE MONTH WHERE THE DAILY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS BELOW
NORMAL. PRECIPITATION WAS LESS THAN NORMAL WITH MOST AREAS ONLY
RECEIVING AROUND 3 TO 4 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION...WHICH IS AROUND 75
PERCENT OF NORMAL FOR THE MONTH. AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT IN
MARCH...WHICH IS A TRANSITION MONTH FROM WINTER INTO SPRING...YOU
CAN GET SOME LARGE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES
REACHED THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 80S ON A FEW DAYS AND NIGHTTIME
TEMPERATURES FELL INTO THE 20S ON A COUPLE OF MORNINGS AS WELL.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT AUGUSTA REGIONAL BUSH FIELD WAS 58.3
DEGREES OR 2.4 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 55.9 DEGREES. THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE AT COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT WAS 58.6 DEGREES OR 3.0
DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 55.6 DEGREES.
FOR MOST OF THE PALMETTO STATE AND EAST-CENTRAL GEORGIA...RAINFALL
WAS AT OR BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH. THE LOWEST MONTHLY RAINFALL
TOTALS WERE ACROSS THE NORTHERN MIDLANDS WHERE LESS THAN 3 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION FELL. THE AREA THAT RECORDED THE MOST PRECIPITATION
WAS ACROSS THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN MIDLANDS WHERE 4 TO 5 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION FELL. LOOKING AT PERCENT OF NORMAL...THE NORTHERN
MIDLANDS RECEIVED ONLY AROUND 50 PERCENT OF NORMAL PRECIPITATION
WHILE THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN MIDLANDS RECEIVED JUST OVER 100
PERCENT OF NORMAL PRECIPITATION.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST COCORAHS RAINFALL REPORTS FOR MARCH:
...COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE RAIN HAIL AND SNOW
NETWORK......WWW.COCORAHS.ORG
SC-BM-1 DENMARK 2.8WNW.................4.77 INCHES
SC-CA-1 ST. MATTHEWS 3.2 ENE...........4.54 INCHES
SC-MC-5 MCCORMICK 2.3 W................4.48 INCHES
SC-BW-3 BARNWELL 1.2 WSW...............4.35 INCHES
SC-SM-1 SUMTER 1.3 SE..................4.04 INCHES
GA-CU-6 MARTINEZ 0.9 NE................3.41 INCHES
GA-CU-9 APPLING 2.0 SE.................3.31 INCHES
GA-MD-1 THOMSON 2.4 S..................3.30 INCHES
HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST NWS COOP OBSERVER REPORTS FOR MARCH:
BNLS1 BARNWELL 5 ENE..............5.08 INCHES
BAMS1 BAMBERG.....................4.25 INCHES
MCCS1 MCCORMICK...................4.21 INCHES
SMRS1 SUMTER......................4.10 INCHES
ORBS1 ORANGEBURG 2................3.96 INCHES
HIGHEST WIND GUSTS AT EACH ASOS LOCATION DURING THE MONTH:
COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT (CAE)......51 MPH ON THE 5TH
AUGUSTA BUSH FIELD (AGS)..........46 MPH ON THE 5TH
ORANGEBURG COUNTY AIRPORT (OGB)...41 MPH ON THE 5TH
AUGUSTA DANIEL FIELD (DNL)........40 MPH ON THE 5TH
COLUMBIA HAMILTON OWENS FLD (CUB).40 MPH ON THE 5TH
HIGHEST WIND GUSTS AT EACH LAKE OBSERVING SITE DURING THE MONTH:
CLARKS HILL LAKE THURMOND DAM (CHDS1)...48 MPH ON THE 5TH
LAKE MURRAY DAM NEAR SPILLWAY RCWINDS...44 MPH ON THE 5TH
LAKE MURRAY FLOTILLA ISLAND (LMFS1).....40 MPH ON THE 5TH
LAKE MURRAY TOWERS (USGS)...............37 MPH ON THE 5TH
LAKE WATEREE DAM (WATS1)................37 MPH ON THE 5TH
WATER TEMPERATURE AT THE LAKE MURRAY TOWERS (DEPTH APPROX. 6 FEET):
WARMEST...59.9 DEGREES ON THE 31ST
COOLEST...47.1 DEGREES ON THE 2ND AND 3RD
RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH AT FEBRUARY:
AUGUSTA...
NONE
COLUMBIA...
ON THE 11TH...THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS 61 DEGREES. THIS BROKE THE
PREVIOUS HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 60 DEGREES SET IN 1986.
EVENTS FOR MARCH 2015:
ON THE 5TH...A STRONG COLD FRONT PUSHED ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE
MORNING HOURS. A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN THE FRONT AND HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDING SOUTHEAST FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS PRODUCED VERY
STRONG WIND GUSTS ACROSS THE REGION. HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST
WIND GUSTS OBSERVED:
WILLIAMS BRICE (RCWINDS)...........68 MPH
HWY 601-LEESBURG RD (RCWINDS)......57 MPH
AIKEN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (AIK)......51 MPH
COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT (CAE).......51 MPH
GILLS CREEK (RCWINDS)..............48 MPH
LAKE THURMOND DAM (CHDS1)..........48 MPH
AUGUSTA BUSH FIELD (AGS)...........46 MPH
MCENTIRE ANG STATION (MMT).........45 MPH
LAKE MURRAY DAM (RCWINDS)..........44 MPH
SHAW AFB (SSC).....................43 MPH
ON THE 29TH...COLD CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SETTLED ACROSS THE
CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA. CLEAR SKIES AND NEARLY CALM WINDS OVERNIGHT
CREATED GOOD RADIATIONAL COOLING CONDITIONS. TEMPERATURES FELL INTO
THE 20S ACROSS MUCH OF THE MIDLANDS AND CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA
OF GEORGIA. HERE ARE SOME OF THE COLDEST READINGS OF THE MORNING:
9 WNW JEFFERSON.................21 DEGREES
CEDAR CREEK (NWS COOP)..........22 DEGREES
BEAR CREEK (RCWINDS)............22 DEGREES
HWY 601-LEESBURG RD (RCWINDS)...23 DEGREES
DUTCH FORK HS (RCWINDS).........23 DEGREES
CHERAW MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (CQW)..25 DEGREES
LANCASTER COUNTY AIRPORT (LKR)..25 DEGREES
NEWBERRY WKDK (NWS COOP)........26 DEGREES
LONGTOWN (NWS COOP).............26 DEGREES
WATEREE DAM (WATS1 NWS COOP)....26 DEGREES
YEAR TO DATE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION STATISTICS...
COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2014/2015 MONTHLY AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...
AVG HIGH/DEP AVG LOW/DEP AVG TEMP NORM DEPARTURE
JAN 2014 52.4/-3.6 28.1/-5.6 40.3 44.8 -4.5
FEB 60.3/ 0.0 37.4/+0.6 48.9 48.5 +0.4
MAR 65.2/-3.0 39.1/-3.9 52.2 55.6 -3.4
APR 78.3/+2.0 52.8/+2.4 65.6 63.4 +2.2
MAY 86.4/+2.6 62.2/+2.7 74.3 71.7 +2.6
JUN 92.4/+2.4 71.6/+3.4 82.0 79.1 +2.9
JUL 92.7/ 0.0 73.4/+1.8 83.0 82.2 +0.8
AUG 92.2/+1.5 71.7/+0.7 82.0 80.8 +1.2
SEP 84.9/-0.3 68.4/+4.2 76.7 74.7 +2.0
OCT 79.9/+3.8 53.6/+1.5 66.8 64.1 +2.7
NOV 63.1/-4.2 38.0/-4.3 50.5 54.8 -4.3
DEC 61.0/+2.8 39.1/+3.8 50.0 46.7 +3.3
ANNUAL 74.2/-1.3 51.3/-1.1 62.7 63.9 -1.2
JAN 2015 55.7/-0.3 33.7/ 0.0 44.7 44.8 -0.1
FEB 54.1/-6.2 32.1/-4.7 43.1 48.5 -5.4
MAR 70.3/+2.1 46.9/+3.9 58.6 55.6 +3.0
AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2014/2015 MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND
DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...
AVG HIGH/DEP AVG LOW/DEP AVG TEMP NORM DEPARTURE
JAN 2014 52.7/-5.2 26.3/-6.5 39.5 45.4 -5.9
FEB 61.9/-2.5 34.9/ 0.0 48.4 49.1 -0.7
MAR 66.1/-3.8 37.6/-4.4 51.9 55.9 -4.0
APR 77.3/ 0.0 49.1/+1.0 63.2 62.7 +0.5
MAY 85.3/+0.3 58.0/+0.7 71.6 71.7 +0.5
JUN 90.7/-0.3 67.2/+1.0 78.9 78.6 +0.3
JUL 92.2/-1.2 68.4/-1.4 80.3 81.6 -1.3
AUG 91.7/-0.1 67.6/-1.7 79.7 80.5 -0.8
SEP 84.9/-1.8 66.6/+4.0 75.7 74.6 +1.1
OCT 81.4/+3.7 49.3/-1.7 65.3 64.4 +0.9
NOV 64.2/-4.9 34.2/-7.2 49.2 55.2 -6.0
DEC 62.3/+2.3 37.4/+2.9 49.8 47.2 +2.6
ANNUAL 74.5/-2.4 48.1/-2.9 61.3 63.9 -2.6
JAN 2015 55.8/-2.1 32.1/-0.7 44.0 45.4 -1.4
FEB 55.4/-6.9 30.1/-5.8 42.8 49.1 -6.3
MAR 71.3/+1.4 45.3/+3.3 58.3 55.9 +2.4
COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2014/2015 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION...
TOTAL NORMAL DEPARTURE
(INCHES)
JAN 2014 3.40 3.58 -0.18
FEB 2.92 3.61 -0.69
MAR 3.93 3.73 +0.20
APR 2.99 2.62 +0.37
MAY 5.72 2.97 +2.75
JUN 1.41 4.69 -3.28
JUL 2.83 5.46 -2.63
AUG 4.88 5.26 -0.38
SEP 2.81 3.54 -0.73
OCT 3.05 3.17 -0.12
NOV 4.37 2.74 +1.63
DEC 3.90 3.22 +0.68
ANNUAL 40.80 44.59 -3.79
JAN 2015 2.60 3.58 -0.98
FEB 4.76 3.61 +1.15
MAR 2.78 3.73 -0.95
AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2014/2015 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION...
TOTAL NORMAL DEPARTURE
(INCHES)
JAN 2014 2.48 3.91 -1.43
FEB 3.73 3.92 -0.19
MAR 2.56 4.18 -1.62
APR 4.59 2.84 +1.75
MAY 5.50 2.65 +2.85
JUN 2.27 4.72 -2.45
JUL 5.53 4.33 +1.20
AUG 1.76 4.32 -2.56
SEP 2.26 3.22 -0.96
OCT 0.61 3.27 -2.66
NOV 3.19 2.82 +0.37
DEC 4.21 3.39 +0.82
ANNUAL 36.42 43.57 -7.15
JAN 2015 2.10 3.91 -1.81
FEB 4.70 3.92 +0.78
MAR 3.04 4.18 -1.14
THE OUTLOOK FOR APRIL...
THE FORECAST CALLS FOR A 40 TO 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES. THERE IS A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL
PRECIPITATION.
THE 3-MONTH OUTLOOK FOR SPRING (APR/MAY/JUNE)...
THE FORECAST CALLS FOR EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE...BELOW AND NORMAL
TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD. THERE IS A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF
ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION THROUGH THE 3 MONTH PERIOD.
ENSO (EL NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION)...
...A EL NINO ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED...
EL NINO CONDITIONS ARE PRESENT ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN
PACIFIC. IT IS LIKELY THAT EL NINO CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST (50 TO 60
PERCENT CHANCE) THROUGH THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SUMMER.
DUE TO THE WEAK STRENGTH OF THE EL NINO...WIDESPREAD OR SIGNIFICANT
GLOBAL WEATHER PATTERN IMPACTS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED.
HOWEVER...CERTAIN IMPACTS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH EL NINO MAY APPEAR
THIS SPRING IN PARTS OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. THIS WOULD
INCLUDE WETTER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS ALONG THE U.S. GULF COAST.
CLIMATE OUTLOOKS AND ENSO DISCUSSIONS COURTESY 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 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 .
$$
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