Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Columbia SC
247 PM EDT Wed Apr 11 2018
...Public Information Statement...
...March 2018 Climate Summary...
...Temperatures 1 to 3 degrees below normal for the month...
...Rainfall slightly below normal for the month...
...Strong wind gusts on March 1st...
March when compared to February will be on opposite sides of the
weather spectrum. March was 1 to 3 degrees below normal for the
month and rainfall was close to normal across much of the region.
The average monthly temperatures were colder for the month of
March than the month of February. The drought conditions
continued to gradually worsen across the Midlands and Central
Savannah River Area due to the fact that rainfall has been below
normal since December 2017. To improve conditions the area would
need to receive above average rainfall for at least 30 to 60 days.
A line of storms on the 20th of March produced damaging straight
line winds in Augusta. There were multiple reports of damage to
building in an industrial area on the south side of the city. An
NWS Survey Team estimated the wind speeds to range from 95 mph up
to 105 mph.
...Augusta Average Temperatures...
The average temperature at Augusta Regional Bush Field for
March was 54.5 degrees or 1.4 degrees below the normal of 55.9
degrees.
...Columbia Average Temperatures...
The average temperature at Columbia Metro Airport for March was
54.2 degrees or 1.4 degrees below the normal of 55.6 degrees.
...Orangeburg Average Temperatures...
The average temperature at the Orangeburg County Airport for
March was 54.1 degrees or 2.5 degrees above the normal of 56.6
degrees.
...Augusta Rainfall...
Augusta Bush Field received 3.21 inches of rainfall during March.
Normal is 4.18 inches.
...Columbia Rainfall...
Columbia Metro Airport received 2.97 inches of rainfall during
March. Normal is 3.73 inches
...Orangeburg Rainfall...
Orangeburg County Airport received 1.91 inches of rainfall during
March. Normal is 3.98 inches
Here are some of the highest monthly rainfall CoCoRaHS Reports
for March:
SC-NW-11 Silverstreet 5.7 WNW.....4.95 inches
SC-LN-15 Lancaster 3.6 NNW........4.27 inches
SC-LN-8 Lancaster 0.4 WSW........4.26 inches
SC-SL-6 Saluda 3.5 ENE...........4.26 inches
SC-LN-4 Lancaster 2.0 NNW........4.22 inches
GA-CU-9 Appling 2.0 SE...........4.55 inches
GA-BK 1 Waynesboro 3.3 SW........4.18 inches
GA-CU-14 Grovetown 4.5 NNW........4.05 inches
GA-MD-5 Thomson 2.6 S............4.00 inches
GA-BK-10 Waynesboro 5.3 SE........3.47 inches
Here are some of the highest/lowest NWS Coop Observer monthly
rainfall reports for March:
LKRS1 Lancaster 4.0 S.............4.09 inches
WYNG1 Waynesboro..................4.08 inches
THMG1 Thomson 1.5 SSE.............3.87 inches
NWYS1 Newberry WKDK...............3.78 inches
SADS1 Saluda Water Plant..........3.70 inches
Highest Wind Gusts at ASOS Sites during March:
Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........53 mph on the 1st
Columbia Hamilton Owens Field (CUB)...50 mph on the 1st
Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............47 mph on the 1st
Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............46 mph on the 1st
Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......40 mph on the 1st
Highest Wind Gusts on the area lakes during March:
Lake Thurmond Dam (CHDS1).............44 mph on the 1st
Lake Murray Flotilla Island (LMFS1)...41 mph on the 1st
Lake Murray Towers USGS (IRMS1).......36 mph on the 25th
Lake Wateree Dam (WATS1)..............32 mph on the 15th
Lake Murray Water Temperatures at The Towers:
Warmest...58.6 degrees on March 20th
Coolest...53.4 degrees on March 16th and 20th
TEMPERATURE RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH OF
March:
Augusta...
None
COLUMBIA...
None
Events for February 2018...
March 15th...
Cold Canadian high pressure settled over the region and produced
unseasonably cold temperatures for the middle of March. Many
locations reported temperatures in the 20s.
Here are a few temperatures from the morning of the 15th:
Nr Mt Croghan So 8th 20 F 0700 AM 03/15 PUBLIC
Cedar Crk 21 F 0800 AM 03/15 COOP
Landfill 21 F 0700 AM 03/15 RCWINDS
Hunts Mill 22 F 0700 AM 03/15 PUBLIC
Hopkins 23 F 0700 AM 03/15 RCWINDS
8 E Fort Jackson 23 F 0733 AM 03/15 RAWS
Camden-woodward Field 23 F 0555 AM 03/15 AWOS
3 NNE Gloverville 24 F 0826 AM 03/15 CWOP
Pelion 24 F 0700 AM 03/15 RCWINDS
Lake Greenwood 24 F 0800 AM 03/15 COOP
Crane Creek FS 24 F 0700 AM 03/15 RCWINDS
Mcentire Ang 24 F 0756 AM 03/15 AWOS
6 SW Eastover 25 F 0747 AM 03/15 RAWS
Dutch Fork HS 25 F 0700 AM 03/15 RCWINDS
2 ESE Saluda 25 F 0703 AM 03/15 AWS
Hollywood Community 25 F 0700 AM 03/15 PUBLIC
Sumter Municipal Airport 25 F 0555 AM 03/15 AWOS
March 15th...
A strong pressure gradient across the region produced strong wind
gusts. Here are a few of the highest recorded wind gust reports:
Clarks Hill Lake Dam 45 MPH 820 PM 03/20 MARITIME
Columbia Metro Airport 44 MPH 850 PM 03/20 ASOS
Augusta Bush Field 43 MPH 847 PM 03/20 ASOS
McEntire JNGB 40 MPH 948 PM 03/20 ASOS
Lake Murray Dam 39 MPH 907 PM 03/20 RCWINDS
Aiken Municipal Airport 36 MPH 855 PM 03/20 AWOS
Thomson-Mcduffie County Airp 36 MPH 915 PM 03/20 AWOS
Columbia Hamilton-Owens Airp 35 MPH 938 PM 03/20 ASOS
2 NNW Grovetown 34 MPH 920 PM 03/20 MESOWEST
6 SSW Augusta 33 MPH 856 PM 03/20 CWOP
Daniel Field Airport 32 MPH 845 PM 03/20 ASOS
3 NNW Blythe 32 MPH 901 PM 03/20 RAWS
Winnsboro 31 MPH 935 PM 03/20 AWOS
2 W Blackville 30 MPH 941 PM 03/20 CWOP
Newberry County Airport 30 MPH 835 PM 03/20 AWOS
March 20th...
A line of strong thunderstorms moved across the Central
Savannah River Area during the early morning hours of the 20th.
Here is a description of the damage the strong damaging winds
produced.
The damage occurred along Marvin Griffin Road, beginning near the
intersection with Perkins Road and ending just before Doug
Barnard Parkway. The damage occurred to 4 large industrial
buildings, where large sections of roofing material was uplifted
and removed. A portion of a masonry exterior wall collapsed after
the roof was uplifted and fell back onto the structure on one of
the buildings. Approximately 11 vehicles were heavily damaged by
debris, and 4 of the vehicles shifted from their original location
by the strong winds and debris. Approximately 6 trees were
uprooted with numerous limbs down in the area. In the most heavily
damaged areas, wind speeds were estimated to be as high as 95-105
mph, which is equivalent to wind speeds associated with an EF-1
tornado.
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
MAR 65.8/-2.4 42.5/-0.5 54.2 55.6 -1.4
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 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
MAR 67.7/-2.2 41.2/-1.4 54.5 55.9 -1.4
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
MAR 2.97 3.73 -0.76
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
MAR 3.21 4.18 -0.97
The 3-Month Outlook for Spring
(April/May/June)...
The outlook calls for a 50 to 60 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 .
$$
Vaughan
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