The National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office in Columbia, SC will be conducting a required, scheduled update to their Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) from Monday May 5, 2025 through approximately Wednesday May 7, 2025. During the time of the update, forecast operations will be conducted by our service back-up office in Greenville-Spartanburg, SC to minimize ... Read More >
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Columbia SC 1136 AM EDT Wed Oct 4 2017 ...September 2017 Climate Summary... ...Remnants of Hurricane Irma Produced Strong Winds and Locally Heavy Rainfall... ...Above normal Temperatures for September... ...Warm and Dry After Irma... September will be most remembered by the effect Hurricane Irma on the Palmetto State and the Peach State. Irma produced very strong winds and brought heavy rainfall to areas of the Midlands and Central Savannah River Area on the 11th. After the passage of Irma, the weather pattern shifted and unseasonably warm temperatures along with little rainfall was the norm for the remainder of the month. The Midlands and Central Savnnah River Area remained free of drought after the passing of Irma for the remainder of the month. ...Augusta Average Temperatures... The average temperature at Augusta Regional Bush Field for September was 76.7 degrees or 2.1 degrees above the normal of 74.6. ...Columbia Average Temperatures... The average temperature at Columbia Metro Airport for September was 77.1 degrees or 2.4 degrees above the normal of 74.7. ...Augusta Rainfall... Augusta Bush Field received 4.55 inches of rainfall during September. Normal is 3.22 inches. ...Columbia Rainfall... Columbia Metro Airport received 4.55 inches of rainfall during September. Normal is 3.54 inches Here are some of the highest rainfall CoCoRaHS Reports for September: SC-BM-1 Denmark 2.8 WNW.........7.12 inches SC-AK-27 Williston 4.3 WNW.......7.07 inches SC-AK-4 North Augusta 4.2 NE....6.91 inches SC-CD-6 Manning 1.9 SSE.........6.82 inches SC-LX-35 Lexington 2.9 SE........6.42 inches GA-BK-1 Waynesboro 3.3 SW.......6.67 inches GA-CU-3 Evans 2.1 NNW...........5.08 inches GA-CU-14 Grovetown 4.5 NNW.......4.99 inches GA-RC-8 Augusta 1.2 NW..........4.36 inches GA-MD-5 Thomson 2.6 S...........4.14 inches Here are some of the highest NWS Coop Observer Reports for September: HHLS1 Holly Hill 1 SW.............8.65 inches BNLS1 Barnwell 5 ENE..............7.12 inches WGRS1 Wagener 1 SW................6.44 inches NRTS1 North 5 NE..................6.21 inches BAMS1 Bamberg.....................6.04 inches Highest Wind Gusts at ASOS Sites during September: Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............57 mph on the 11th Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............55 mph on the 11th Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......54 mph on the 11th Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........51 mph on the 11th Columbia Hamilton Owens Field (CUB)...45 mph on the 11th Highest Wind Gusts on the area lakes during September: Lake Thurmond Dam (CHDS1).............51 mph on the 11th Lake Murray Flotilla Island (LMFS1)...40 mph on the 11th Lake Murray Towers (USGS).............37 mph on the 11th Lake Murray Dam (RCWINDS).............35 mph on the 11th Lake Wateree Dam (WATS1)..............32 mph on the 11th Lake Murray Water Temperatures at The Towers: Warmest...83 degrees on September 21st Coolest...68 degrees on September 11th TEMPERATURE RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH OF September: September 11th - A new daily maximum rainfall record was set when 4.10 inches of rain fell. The previous record was 2.30 inches set in 1884. September 28th - Record daily high temperature tied when the afternoon temperature reached 97 degrees. This tied the record of 97 degrees set in 1986. COLUMBIA... September 11th - A new daily maximum rainfall record was set when 3.38 inches of rain fell. The previous record was 2.24 inches set in 1889. Events for September 2017... 9/1 - A cold front combined with moisture from Tropical Storm Harvey, that move across the Tennessee Valley, produced scattered strong to severe thunderstorms across the region. Severe thunderstorms produced strong damaging winds across portions of Fairfield and Chesterfield counties. Hail up to quarter size was reported at Lake Wateree State Park. Strong winds downed trees in Fairfield County and also near the town of McBee in Chesterfield County. 9/5 - A weak trough across the Upstate ahead of a cold front produced isolated strong to severe thunderstorms. The strong winds downed limbs, power lines and trees across Kershaw and Barnwell counties. 9/6 - A cold front moved across the region and produced widely scattered strong to severe thunderstorms. The strong winds downed trees and power lines across Lee county near Mayesville and also across Clarendon county. 9/10-12 - What else needs to be said, but Irma and her impacts to the Midlands and Central Savannah River Area. Irma produced very strong winds and locally heavy rainfall across the area. Counties reported numerous trees and power lines down along with tens of thousands of households without power. There was also 1 weak EF-0 Tornado associated with Irma that touched down briefly in Bamberg county. Here are some of the highest wind gusts recorded: Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............58 mph on the 11th (ASOS) Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............55 mph on the 11th (ASOS) Edisto Rec Nr Blackville..............55 mph on the 11th (Public) Lancaster County Airport (LKR)........55 mph on the 11th (AWOS) Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......54 mph on the 11th (ASOS) Winnsboro (FDW).......................53 mph on the 11th (AWOS) Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........51 mph on the 11th (ASOS) Shaw AFB (SSC)........................51 mph on the 11th (AWOS) Lake Thurmond Dam (CHDS1).............51 mph on the 11th (NWS) SAVRAW 8 WSW Snelling.................51 mph on the 11th (RAWS) Elders Pond...........................50 mph on the 11th (RCWINDS) Colonels Creek Landing Lk Wateree.....50 mph on the 11th (Public) Aiken Municipal Airport (AIK).........49 mph on the 11th (AWOS) Barnwell County Airport (BNL).........48 mph on the 11th (AWOS) McEntire JNG (MMT)....................48 mph on the 11th (AWOS) Here are some of the highest rainfall totals: Holly Hill (HHLS1)....................7.18 inches (COOP) SC-BM-01 Denmark 2.8 WNW..............6.80 inches (CoCoRaHS) GA-BK-01 Waynesboro 3.3 SW............6.67 inches (CoCoRaHS) Barnwell (BNLS1)......................6.35 inches (COOP) USCRN Site Clemson nr Blackville......6.09 inches (GOES) SC-BM-06 Ehrhardt 0.2 SE..............6.01 inches (CoCoRaHS) Santee NWR............................5.96 inches (RAWS) SC-LX-02 Lexington 1.9 E..............5.86 inches (CoCoRaHS) SC-AK-27 Williston 4.3 NNW............5.75 inches (CoCoRaHS) SC-CD-02 Manning 8.2 S................5.75 inches (CoCoRaHS) Lexington Cty Municipal Bldg..........5.67 inches (RCWINDS) SC-CD-01 Summerton 8.4 SE.............5.47 inches (CoCoRaHS) Thomson-McDuffie County Arpt (HQU)....5.37 inches (AWOS) Wateree...............................5.27 inches (RCWINDS) SC-LX-35 Lexington 2.9 NE.............5.22 inches (CoCoRaHS) An EF-0 Tornado touched down just northwest of the town of Olar along Thunder Road. The tornado continued north-northwest for approximately 2 miles. The tornado crossed Thunder Road, Red Fox Road, Memorial Church Road and dissipated before reaching Ehrhardt Road. The tornado downed a few trees and several large limbs along it`s path. The tornado was brief, only staying on the ground for approximately 4 minutes. There was no damage to any structures. The width of the tornado was up to 50 yards with an estimated maximum wind speed of 85 mph. 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 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 APR 77.8/+1.5 50.4/+5.7 67.0 63.4 +3.6 MAY 86.0/+2.2 61.0/+1.5 73.5 71.7 +1.8 JUN 93.6/+3.6 71.6/+3.4 82.6 79.1 +3.5 JUL 96.4/+3.7 74.3/+2.7 85.3 82.2 +3.1 AUG 92.9/+2.2 72.2/+1.2 82.6 80.8 +1.8 SEP 85.9/+0.7 67.6/+3.4 76.7 74.7 +2.0 OCT 75.6/-0.5 53.6/+1.5 64.6 64.1 +0.5 NOV 69.4/+2.1 48.6/+6.3 59.0 54.8 +4.2 DEC 70.1/+11.9 50.1/+14.8 60.1 46.7 +13.4 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 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 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 APR 77.8/+0.5 54.9/+6.8 66.3 62.7 +3.6 MAY 86.7/+1.7 58.1/+0.8 72.4 71.1 +1.3 JUN 93.1/+2.1 68.1/+1.9 80.6 78.6 +2.0 JUL 95.8/+2.4 71.3/+1.5 83.6 81.6 +2.0 AUG 91.4/-0.4 69.8/+0.5 80.6 80.5 +0.1 SEP 85.5/-1.2 65.1/+2.5 75.3 74.6 +0.7 OCT 77.7/-2.1 52.4/+1.4 64.0 64.4 -0.4 NOV 70.2/+1.1 47.0/+5.6 58.6 55.2 +3.4 DEC 70.3/+10.3 48.3/+13.8 59.3 47.2 +12.1 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 COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2015/2016/2017 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION... TOTAL NORMAL DEPARTURE (INCHES) JAN 2015 2.60 3.58 -0.98 FEB 4.76 3.61 +1.15 MAR 2.78 3.73 -0.95 APR 4.03 2.62 +1.41 MAY 1.71 2.97 -1.26 JUN 8.79 4.69 +4.10 JUL 1.53 5.46 -3.93 AUG 4.85 5.26 -0.41 SEP 6.15 3.54 +2.61 OCT 14.46 3.17 +11.29 NOV 5.47 2.74 +2.73 DEC 6.45 3.22 +3.23 ANNUAL 63.58 44.59 +18.99 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 AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2015/2016/2017 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION... TOTAL NORMAL DEPARTURE (INCHES) JAN 2015 2.10 3.91 -1.81 FEB 4.70 3.92 +0.78 MAR 3.04 4.18 -1.14 APR 4.86 2.84 +2.02 MAY 0.93 2.65 -1.72 JUN 3.50 4.72 -1.22 JUL 3.52 4.33 -0.81 AUG 3.74 4.32 -0.58 SEP 4.05 3.22 +0.83 OCT 4.62 3.27 +1.35 NOV 5.41 2.82 +2.59 DEC 6.92 3.39 +3.53 ANNUAL 47.39 43.57 +3.82 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 The 3-Month Outlook for Fall/Winter (October/November/December)... The outlook calls for a 33 to 40 percent chance of above normal temperatures with a 33 to 40 percent chance of above normal precipitation. GO TO THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER WEB PAGE AT WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV IN LOWER CASE LETTERS FOR MORE DETAILS AND THE LATEST OUTLOOKS. ENSO (EL NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION)... ...ENSO Neutral Conditions Are Present... ...La Nina Watch Issued... Equatorial sea surface temperatures are near to below average across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. There is an increasing chance, (55%-60%) of La Nina during the Northern Hemisphere Fall and Winter 2017-18. 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 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 . $$ Vaughan