Climate Summary December 2018

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Columbia SC
125 PM EST Tue Jan 29 2019

...December 2018 Climate Summary...

...7th wettest December on record at Columbia...
...Prolonged River Flooding...
...Above Normal Temperatures for the Month...
...Minor Winter Weather Event on the 9th Across the Northern
Midlands...

December 2018 was warmer and wetter than normal across the region.

.Augusta Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at Augusta Regional Bush Field for December
was 50.8 degrees or 3.6 degrees above the normal of 47.2 degrees.

.Columbia Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at Columbia Metro Airport for December was
48.8 degrees or 2.1 degrees above the normal 46.7 degrees.

.Augusta Rainfall...

Augusta Bush Field received 5.94 inches of rainfall during
December, 2.55 inches above the normal of 3.39 inches.

.Columbia Rainfall...

Columbia Metro Airport received 7.25 inches of rainfall during
December, 4.03 inches above the normal of 3.22 inches. This makes
December 2018 the 7th wettest December on record in Columbia since
rainfall records began in 1887.  The wettest December on record in
Columbia was 9.31 inches in December 2009.

Here are some of the highest official NWS Coop Observer monthly
rainfall totals for December 2018:

NWYS1 Newberry SC.............9.98 inches*
LIMS1 Little Mountain SC......9.95 inches*
HHLS1 Holly Hill SC...........9.50 inches
LUGS1 Lugoff SC...............9.47 inches
CHPS1 Lake Greenwood Dam SC...9.08 inches
BATS1 Batesburg SC............9.08 inches

* Wettest December on record at both Little Mountain and Newberry.

Here are some of the highest unofficial CoCoRaHS monthly rainfall
totals for December 2018:

SC-KR-27 Camden 6.4 SE.......10.28 inches
SC-NW-13 Newberry 1.0 N......10.24 inches
SC-KR-14 Lugoff 2.2 NNW......10.10 inches
SC-FR-7  Winnsboro 8.0 S.....10.00 inches
SC-MC-5  McCormick 2.3 W......9.96 inches


Highest Wind Gusts at ASOS Sites during December:

Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......44 mph on the 21st
Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............36 mph on the 21st
Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........36 mph on the 21st
Columbia Hamilton Owens Field (CUB)...36 mph on the 21st
Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............35 mph on the 21st


Highest Wind Gusts on the area lakes during December:

Lake Thurmond Dam (CHDS1).............43 mph on the 28th
Lake Wateree Dam (WATS1)..............41 mph on the 28th
Lake Murray Flotilla Island (LMFS1)...39 mph on the 28th
Lake Murray Towers USGS (IRMS1).......39 mph on the 21st


Lake Murray Top Water Temperatures at The Towers for December:

Warmest...59F on the 3rd and 4th.
Coolest...52F on the 27th and 28th.


TEMPERATURE/PRECIPITATION RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH OF
DECEMBER:

Augusta...
None

COLUMBIA...
Record daily rainfall amount of 1.3 inches set on December 9th.


Events for December 2018...

December 9-10 2018...
An area of low pressure developed along Gulf coast of Texas and
Louisiana on the 8th. This system continued to strengthen and move
across northern Florida on the 9th and then off the North Carolina
coast on the 10th. Ahead of the system, there was enough cold air
to produce some light freezing rain accumulations on trees and
power lines in Lancaster SC. Trace amounts of light snow were
observed in Pageland SC and Lancaster SC. Additionally, this system
produced heavy rainfall across the area. The heavy rainfall
initiated much of the river flooding that occurred throughout much
of December. The river that was most affected was the Congaree
River below Columbia. The river forecast points at Carolina
Eastman and the Congaree National Park-Gadsden remained above flood
stage for much of the month, even lingering into the New Year.

Here are some of the heaviest rainfall amounts from the event:

6 E Jefferson....................5.18 inches RAWS
Horrell Hill.....................3.46 inches RCWINDS
Lake Murray......................3.20 inches CoCoRaHS
Saluda...........................3.11 inches CoCoRaHS
Lexington 2 NE...................3.10 inches CoCoRaHS
Plumb Branch Lake Thurmond.......3.07 inches GOES
4 N Mount Carmel.................3.06 inches HADS
Little Mountain..................3.03 inches NWS Coop
Crane Creek FS...................2.99 inches RCWINDS
Newberry Sheriff Dept............2.99 inches RCWINDS
MLK Park.........................2.99 inches RCWINDS


December 14-16 2018... A deep area of low pressure developed over the
Lower Mississippi River Valley on the 14th and moved northeast up the
west side of the Appalachian Mountains through the 16th. This system
produced locally heavy rainfall and river flooding across much of the
Midlands and Central Savannah River Area.

Here are some of the highest rainfall totals for the period:

Holly Hill.......................3.41 inches NWS Coop
Santee 6.9 WSW...................2.71 inches CoCoRaHS
Manning 1.9 SSE..................2.58 inches CoCoRaHS
6 E Jefferson....................2.49 inches RAWS
5 NNE Santee.....................2.45 inches RAWS
St. Matthews 3.2 ENE.............2.37 inches CoCoRaHS
Eastover ESD.....................2.24 inches RCWINDS
Ehrhardt.........................2.15 inches CoCoRaHS
Columbia 7.4 N...................2.06 inches CoCoRaHS
Sumter 6.8 NNE...................1.97 inches CoCoRAHS


December 29 2018...
A thunderstorm moving across northern Saluda county, approximately 8
miles north of the town of Saluda produced strong damaging winds. Winds
speeds were estimated to range from 70 to 80 mph. Tree and structural
damage was noted at 6 different locations. The most extensive damage
was along Shiloh Road at 2 adjacent properties. The strong winds first
snapped several pine trees, a few cedar trees along with a few uprooted
cedar trees. A 70 foot long sheet metal building was overturned and
moved approximately 50 feet from its location. A pump well house was
destroyed along with some damage to an adjacent metal building. The
home on the property had some roof damage to the fascia and shingles.
The strong winds also bent over a 30 foot aluminum flag poll with flag
attached and blew over a gas grill.

A hardwood tree was snapped, another hardwood tree was uprooted and
a diseased hardwood tree was uprooted along Prince Hill Road.

A tree was downed on a house along Hollywood Road. There were also
additional trees downed in the Hollywood Road area.

The same system that produced the wind damaged also produced locally
heavy rainfall. Here are some of the highest rainfall totals:

1 WSW Barnwell...................2.09 inches CoCoRaHS
2 W Blackville...................1.91 inches GOES
4 NW Brookdale...................1.86 inches CoCoRaHS
Sumter 6.8 NNE...................1.79 inches CoCoRaHS
Sumter...........................1.73 inches CoCoRaHS
3 W Blackville...................1.69 inches GOES
2 NNW Edisto.....................1.65 inches CoCoRaHS
1 SSE Sumter.....................1.53 inches CoCoRaHS
6 NE Camden......................1.47 inches CoCoRaHS
6 E Jefferson....................1.46 inches RAWS


December 2018 River Flooding...

Here are the Highest Crest/Date/Flood Level along some of the area
rivers:

Pee Dee River at Cheraw...........37.75 feet, 22nd (Moderate Flood)
Lake Wateree at the Dam..........102.46 feet, 22nd (Moderate Flood)
Congaree Rvr at Carolina Eastman.122.40 feet, 11th (Moderate Flood)
Congaree Rvr Congaree NP/Gadsden..17.71 feet, 24th (Minor Flood)
Saluda River at Chappells.........19.59 feet, 23rd (Minor Flood)
Stevens Creek at Modoc............24.98 feet, 10th (Minor Flood)
Enoree River at Whitmire..........25.41 feet, 11th (Minor Flood)



YEAR TO DATE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION STATISTICS...

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2018 MONTHLY AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

         AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP    NORM  DEPARTURE
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
MAR       65.8/-2.4      42.5/-0.5      54.2      55.6    -1.4
APR       75.1/-1.2      49.4/-1.0      62.3      63.4    -1.1
MAY       87.3/+1.4      66.5/+7.0      76.9      71.7    +5.2
JUN       93.8/+3.8      71.7/+3.5      82.8      79.1    +3.7
JUL       93.5/+0.8      73.5/+1.9      83.5      82.2    +1.3
AUG       92.9/+2.2      72.7/+1.7      82.8      80.8    +2.0
SEP       91.2/+6.0      72.6/+8.4      81.9      74.7    +7.2
OCT       79.6/+3.5      57.5/+5.4      68.5      64.1    +4.4
NOV       62.3/-5.0      43.2/+0.9      52.8      54.8    -2.0
DEC       58.5/+0.3      39.2/+3.9      48.8      46.7    +2.1
Annual    77.1/+1.6      55.7/+3.3      66.4      63.9    +2.5


AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2018 MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

         AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP    NORM  DEPARTURE
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
MAR       67.7/-2.2      41.2/-1.4     54.5       55.9    -1.4
APR       75.1/-2.2      46.1/-2.0     60.6       62.7    -2.1
MAY       86.4/+1.4      61.5/+4.2     74.0       71.1    +2.9
JUN       92.2/+1.2      68.7/+2.5     80.5       78.6    +1.9
JUL       91.2/-2.2      70.9/+1.1     81.0       81.6    -0.6
AUG       92.4/+0.6      70.4/+1.1     81.4       80.5    +0.9
SEP       92.4/+5.7      70.4/+7.8     81.4       74.6    +6.8
OCT       80.6/+2.9      56.7/+4.3     68.7       64.4    +4.3
NOV       64.3/-4.8      43.3/+1.9     53.8       55.2    -1.4
DEC       61.1/+1.1      40.5/+6.0     50.8       47.2    +3.6
Annual    77.7/+0.8      53.9/+2.9     65.8       63.9    +1.9

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2018 MONTHLY/YEARLY PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2018       2.42     3.58    -1.16
FEB            1.61     3.61    -2.00
MAR            2.97     3.73    -0.76
APR            3.10     2.62    +0.48
MAY            2.76     2.97    -0.21
JUN            3.45     4.69    -1.24
JUL            3.68     5.46    -1.78
AUG            3.25     5.26    -2.01
SEP            6.09     3.54    +2.55
OCT            6.36     3.17    +3.22
NOV            6.55     2.74    +3.81
DEC            7.25     3.22    +4.03
Annual        49.52    44.59    +4.93

AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2018 MONTHLY/YEARLY PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2018       2.09     3.91     -1.82
FEB            1.57     3.92     -2.35
MAR            3.21     4.18     -0.97
APR            3.47     2.84     +0.63
MAY            8.21     2.65     +5.56
JUN            5.19     4.72     +0.47
JUL            3.13     4.33     -1.20
AUG            4.28     4.32     -0.04
SEP            7.19     3.22     +3.97
OCT            4.58     3.27     +1.31
NOV            5.98     2.82     +3.16
DEC            5.94     3.39     +2.55
Annual        54.84    43.57    +11.27


The 3-Month Outlook for Winter
(January/February/March)...

The outlook calls for greater than a 33 percent chance of below normal
temperatures along with greater than a 40 percent chance for above
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)...
...El Nino Watch Continues...

A weak El Nino is expected through Spring 2019.

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 .

$$

DCM/LCV