Climate Summary for October 2020

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Columbia SC
520 AM Tue Nov 03 2020

...PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...

...Climate Summary for October...

...Temperatures Above Normal for the Month...
...Tied for the 7th Warmest October on Record at Columbia...
...Tied for the 8th Warmest October on Record at Augusta...
...Rainfall Below Normal for the Month...
...Remnants of Hurricane Delta Produce Heavy Rain Across the
Upstate...
...Rainfall from the Remnants of Hurricane Zeta miss much of the
Midlands and CSRA...


October 2020 will be remembered for being much warmer and drier than
normal across the region. It was tied for the 7th warmest on record
at Columbia and tied for the 8th warmest on record at Augusta. The
area was also affected by two tropical systems. The remnants of
Delta produced rainfall amounts from a quarter of an inch up to 2
inches across the western Midlands. The remnants of Zeta produced
less than one quarter inch of rainfall across the region. As with
both systems, the heaviest rain fell across the Upstate and western
North Carolina.

Here are the top 10 warmest October`s on record at Columbia:

1. 73.9 degrees in 1919
2. 72.2 degrees in 1941
3. 70.4 degrees in 1984
4. 70.1 degrees in 2019
5. 69.8 degrees in 1971
6. 69.2 degrees in 2007
7. 68.7 degrees in 2020, 1949, 1947
10. 68.5 degrees in 2018

Here are the top 10 warmest October`s on record at Augusta:

1. 74.9 degrees in 1919
2. 72.9 degrees in 1941
3. 71.9 degrees in 1984
4. 71.2 degrees in 1884
5. 70.9 degrees in 1881
6. 70.6 degrees in 2019, 1985
8. 70.3 degrees in 2020, 1949
10. 69.6 degrees in 2007



.Augusta Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at Augusta Regional Bush Field for October
was 70.3 degrees or 5.9 degrees above the normal of 64.4 degrees


.Columbia Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at Columbia Metro Airport for October was
68.4 degrees or 4.6 degrees above the normal of 64.1 degrees.



.Augusta Rainfall...

Augusta Bush Field received 1.23 inches of rainfall during
October, 2.04 inches below the normal of 3.27 inches


.Columbia Rainfall...

Columbia Metro Airport received 0.94 inches of rainfall during
October, 2.23 inches below the normal of 3.17 inches


Here are some of the highest/lowest Coop Observer monthly rainfall
totals for October 2020:

WNBS1 Winnsboro...................3.95 inches
MCCS1 McCormick...................3.65 inches
BLYS1 Cedar Creek.................3.27 inches

WYNG1 Waynesboro..................0.65 inches
BNLS1 Barnwell 5 ENE..............0.89 inches
HHLS1 Holly Hill 1 SW.............0.96 inches


Here are some of the highest/lowest CoCoRaHS Observer
monthly rainfall totals for October 2020:

SC-LN-2   Fort Mill 3.5 ENE.......5.70 inches
SC-CF-5   Pageland 9.0 WNW........5.17 inches
SC-RC-41  Blythewood 1.0 W........4.40 inches

SC-BW-3   Barnwell 1.2 WSW........0.32 inches
SC-BM-1   Denmark 2.8 WNW.........0.45 inches
SC-BW-6   Barnwell 4.6 S..........0.46 inches

GA-LN-2   Tignall 10.2 NE.........5.21 inches
GA-RC-9   W. Augusta 0.9 NW.......2.41 inches
GA-MD-1   Thomson 2.5 S...........1.85 inches

GA-BK-1   Waynesboro 3.3 SW.......1.00 inches
GA-CU-6   Martinez 0.9 NW.........1.23 inches


Highest Wind Gusts at ASOS Sites During October:

Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............50 mph on the 29th
Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........42 mph on the 30th
Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......39 mph on the 30th
Columbia Hamilton Owens Field (CUB)...37 mph on the 29th
Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............37 mph on the 29th


Highest Wind Gusts on the area lakes during October:

Lake Murray Towers USGS (IRMS1).......47 mph on the 30th
Lake Murray Flotilla Island (LMFS1)...43 mph on the 29th
Lake Thurmond Dam (CHDS1).............41 mph on the 30th
Lake Wateree Dam (WATS1)..............31 mph on the 29th


Lake Murray Water Temperatures (near surface) at The Towers for
October:

Warmest...75.7F on the 13th
Coolest...71.2F on the 31st


Temperature/Precipitation Records Tied or Broken during the month
of October:

Augusta...

October 13th...The high temperature for the date was 89 degrees.
This tied the record high temperature of 89 degrees set in 2019.

October 29th...The high temperature for the date was 88 degrees.
This broke the previous record for the date of 86 degrees set in
2016.


Columbia...

October 29th...The high temperature for the date was 86 degrees.
This tied the record high temperature of 86 degrees set in 1919.


Significant Weather Events for October...

October 10th - 11th:  The remnants of Delta moved from the Gulf
coast northeast and west of the region. The system produced locally
heavy rainfall across western North Carolina and the Upstate of
South Carolina. Rainfall amounts across the Midlands and CSRA ranged
from one quarter inch up to 2 inches across the western Midlands.
The heaviest rain fell from northeast Georgia into western North
Carolina. Amounts of 4 to 8 inches were common. This produced some
minor flooding along the Congaree River south of Columbia and along
the Great Pee Dee River.


October 29th - 30th:  The remnants of Zeta moved from the Gulf coast
northeast and slightly farther westward than Delta had during the
beginning of October. Rainfall amounts across the Midlands and CSRA
were very light with most places receiving less than one quarter
inch of rainfall. The heaviest rain once again fell across western
North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina. Rainfall amounts
of 1 to 3 inches fell across the Upstate with amounts up to 6 inches
over the mountains of North Carolina.

The remnants of Zeta along with an approaching cold front produced
strong winds across the region during the morning hours of the 29th
and the evening of the 30th.

The strong winds produced scattered power outages across the
Midlands and CSRA.

Here are some of the highest wind gusts recorded from the event.

 ...HIGHEST WIND REPORTS FROM OCT 29TH AND OCT 30TH...

Location                     Speed     Time/Date       Provider
Lake Murray Towers           47 MPH    0115 AM 10/30   USGS
Thomson-Mcduffie County Airp 46 MPH    1155 PM 10/29   AWOS
Lancaster                    44 MPH    0955 AM 10/29   AWOS
Newberry                     43 MPH    1015 PM 10/29   AWOS
1 SSW Lake Murray of Richlan 43 MPH    0950 AM 10/29   NDBC
Newberry (WEATHERSTEM)       43 MPH    0810 AM 10/29   MESOWEST
2 W Clarks Hill              41 MPH    1210 AM 10/30   NDBC
Columbia                     41 MPH    0205 AM 10/30   ASOS
Carolina Sandhills           40 MPH    1014 AM 10/29   RAWS
Mcentire Ang                 40 MPH    0117 AM 10/30   AWOS
Shaw AFB Sumter              40 MPH    0136 AM 10/30   AWOS
Gracewood                    39 MPH    0104 AM 10/30   CWOP
Aiken                        39 MPH    1235 AM 10/30   AWOS
Winnsboro                    39 MPH    0955 AM 10/29   AWOS
Orangeburg                   39 MPH    0115 AM 10/30   ASOS
Augusta Bush                 38 MPH    1129 PM 10/29   ASOS
Barnwell                     38 MPH    1255 AM 10/30   AWOS
Columbia Hamilton-Owens Airp 38 MPH    1234 AM 10/30   ASOS
Augusta Daniel               37 MPH    1055 PM 10/29   ASOS
1 ESE North                  36 MPH    0106 AM 10/30   AWOS
Orangeburg                   35 MPH    0203 AM 10/30   CWOP
Camden Woodward              35 MPH    1255 AM 10/30   AWOS
Santee Cooper Region Arpt    35 MPH    1235 PM 10/29   AWOS
1.2 SE Sumter (WEATHERSTEM)  34 MPH    0110 AM 10/30   MESOWEST
Springfield                  34 MPH    0115 AM 10/30   CWOP
North Augusta                33 MPH    1256 AM 10/30   CWOP
Williston                    33 MPH    0116 AM 10/30   CWOP
Cheraw                       33 MPH    1015 AM 10/29   AWOS
Orangeburg                   33 MPH    0216 AM 10/30   RAWS
2.1 S Mulberry (WEATHERSTEM) 32 MPH    0920 AM 10/29   MESOWEST
Wedgefield                   32 MPH    0101 PM 10/29   CWOP
Fort Gordon                  32 MPH    0101 AM 10/30   RAWS
Weir Tower                   32 MPH    1251 AM 10/30   RAWS
Savriv                       31 MPH    0107 AM 10/30   RAWS
Long Cane Portable           31 MPH    0850 AM 10/29   RAWS
Orangeburg                   30 MPH    0146 AM 10/30   CWOP
Sumter Municipal Airport     30 MPH    1255 PM 10/29   AWOS




YEAR TO DATE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION STATISTICS...

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2019/2020 MONTHLY AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

         AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP    NORM  DEPARTURE
JAN 2019  57.7/+1.7      36.3/+2.6      47.0      44.8    +2.2
FEB       65.1/+4.8      41.2/+4.4      53.2      48.5    +4.7
MAR       67.4/-0.8      42.7/+0.3      55.1      55.6    -0.5
APR       77.9/+1.6      52.7/+2.3      65.3      63.4    +1.9
MAY       89.2/+5.4      65.4/+5.9      77.3      71.7    +5.6
JUN       88.9/-1.1      68.2/ 0.0      78.5      79.1    -0.6
JUL       93.2/+2.9      72.2/+0.6      82.7      82.2    +0.5
AUG       92.5/+1.8      72.1/+1.1      82.3      80.8    +1.5
SEP       93.0/+7.8      68.9/+4.7      80.9      74.7    +6.2
OCT       82.0/+5.9      58.3/+6.2      70.1      64.1    +6.0
NOV       63.0/-4.3      39.6/-2.7      51.3      54.8    -3.5
DEC       61.4/+3.2      39.6/+4.3      50.5      46.7    +3.8
Annual

Jan 2020  60.8/+4.8      41.4/+7.7      51.1      44.8    +6.3
Feb       61.7/+1.4      41.7/+4.9      51.7      48.5    +3.2
Mar       72.2/+4.0      51.9/+8.9      62.1      55.6    +6.5
Apr       76.1/-0.2      50.8/+0.4      63.5      63.4    +0.1
May       80.8/-3.0      58.7/-0.8      69.7      71.7    -2.0
Jun       87.2/-2.8      68.5/+0.3      77.9      79.1    -1.2
Jul       93.1/+0.4      73.7/+2.1      83.4      82.2    +1.2
Aug       90.1/-0.6      73.1/+2.1      81.6      80.8    +0.8
Sep       83.4/-1.8      65.7/+1.5      74.6      74.7    -0.1
Oct       79.5/+3.4      57.8/+5.7      68.7      64.1    +4.6


AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2019/2020 MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

         AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP    NORM  DEPARTURE
JAN 2019  60.7/+2.8      37.4/+4.6     49.1       45.4    +3.7
FEB       68.4/+6.1      43.2/+7.3     55.8       49.1    +6.7
MAR       71.2/+1.3      42.8/+0.8     57.0       55.9    +1.1
APR       80.0/+2.7      52.1/+4.0     66.0       62.7    +3.3
MAY       91.0/+6.0      64.1/+6.8     77.5       71.1    +6.4
JUN       90.7/-0.3      67.6/+1.4     79.2       78.6    +0.6
JUL       96.3/+2.9      71.1/+1.3     83.7       81.6    +2.1
AUG       93.7/+1.9      71.5/+2.2     82.6       80.5    +2.1
SEP       93.7/+7.0      66.8/+4.2     80.2       74.6    +5.6
OCT       83.3/+5.6      58.0/+7.0     70.6       64.4    +6.2
NOV       65.9/-3.2      40.0/-1.4     52.9       55.2    -2.3
DEC       63.8/+3.8      40.4/+5.9     52.1       47.2    +4.9
Annual

Jan 2020  64.0/+6.1      41.5/+8.7     52.7       45.4    +7.3
Feb       63.8/+1.5      42.2/+6.3     53.0       49.1    +3.9
Mar       75.5/+5.6      52.1/+10.1    63.8       55.9    +7.9
Apr       77.8/+0.5      50.2/+2.1     64.0       62.7    +1.3
May       83.9/-1.1      58.0/+0.7     71.0       71.1    -0.1
Jun       89.7/-1.3      68.1/+1.9     78.9       78.6    +0.3
Jul       95.4/+2.0      72.8/+3.0     84.1       81.6    +2.5
Aug       93.2/+1.4      72.1/+2.9     82.7       80.5    +2.2
Sep       86.0/-0.7      66.2/+3.6     76.1       74.6    +1.5
Oct       82.2/+4.5      58.3/+7.3     70.3       64.4    +5.9


COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2019/2020 MONTHLY/YEARLY
PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2019       3.07     3.58    -0.57
FEB            0.88     3.61    -2.73
MAR            2.61     3.73    -1.12
APR            2.86     2.62    +0.24
MAY            2.35     2.97    -0.62
JUN            8.03     4.69    +3.34
JUL            4.50     5.46    +0.96
AUG            1.40     5.26    -3.86
SEP            1.95     3.54    -1.59
OCT            2.36     3.17    -0.81
NOV            3.00     2.74    +0.26
DEC            9.31     3.22    +6.09
Annual        42.26    44.59    -2.33

Jan 2020       5.84     3.58    +2.26
Feb            5.48     3.61    +1.87
Mar            4.17     3.73    +0.44
Apr            2.98     2.62    +0.36
May            9.32     2.97    +6.35
Jun            4.78     4.69    +0.09
Jul            7.61     5.46    +2.15
Aug            3.74     5.26    -1.52
Sep            4.50     3.54    +0.96
Oct            0.94     3.17    -2.23
Ytd           49.36    38.63   +10.73


AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2019/2020 MONTHLY/YEARLY PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
Jan 2019       4.40     3.91     +0.49
FEB            1.14     3.92     -2.78
MAR            2.23     4.18     -1.95
APR            3.01     2.84     +0.17
MAY            3.70     2.65     +1.05
JUN            6.45     4.72     +1.73
JUL            1.39     4.33     -2.94
AUG           12.92     4.32     +8.60
SEP            0.77     3.22     -2.45
OCT            4.12     3.27     +0.85
NOV            2.62     2.82     -0.20
DEC            8.12     3.39     +4.73
Annual        50.87    43.57     +6.30

Jan 2020       4.56     3.91     +0.65
Feb            7.17     3.92     +3.25
Mar            5.33     4.18     +1.15
Apr            5.54     2.84     +2.70
May            6.30     2.65     +3.65
Jun            2.32     4.72     -2.40
Jul            7.09     4.33     +2.76
Aug            6.20     4.32     +1.88
Sep            5.50     3.22     +2.28
Oct            1.23     3.27     -2.04
Ytd           51.24    37.36    +13.88


The 3-Month Outlook for Late Fall into Winter
...(November/December/January)...

The outlook calls for a 33 to 40 percent chance of above normal
temperatures with a 40 to 50 percent chance of below 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...

La Nina conditions are present and are likely to continue through
the Northern Hemisphere winter 2020-21. There is an 85 percent
chance of this occurring.

La Nina conditions are expected to continue into spring 2021. There
is 60 percent chance of this occurring.

Equatorial sea surface temperatures are below average across the
central and eastern Pacific Ocean.

The tropical atmospheric circulation is consistent with La Nina.

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 .

$$

LCV