Public Information Statement National Weather Service 252 PM EDT Fri Sep 9 2016 ...August 2016 Climate Summary... ...Warmest Summer on record at Columbia... ...14th Driest Summer on record at Columbia... ...3rd Warmest Summer on record at Augusta... ...10th Driest Summer on record at Augusta ...3rd Warmest August at Columbia... ...7th Warmest August at Augusta... ...Heavy Rainfall and Severe Storms at the beginning of August... ...3rd highest crest along Rocky Branch since gage installed 2007... The last month of meteorological Summer was much like the other 2 months. It remained hot with temperatures above normal and rainfall below normal at many locations. It was the only month this Summer that the mercury did not climb to the century mark at both Columbia and Augusta. The highest temperature for the month at Augusta was 98 degrees on the 18th, 27th and 28th. The highest temperature at Columbia was 97 degrees on the 17th, 26th and 27th. The record string of minimum temperatures of 70 degrees or higher at Columbia finally came to an end on August the 25th. The string lasted for 65 days beginning on June 20th. The old record was 54 days in 2010 and 1955. Here are the top 5 most consecutive days of 70 degrees or higher for minimum temperatures and the day the string ended: 1. 65 days...August 24th, 2016 2. 54 days...August 29th, 2010 and August 25th, 1955 4. 51 days...August 26th, 1934 5. 47 days...August 12th, 1991 ...Warmest Summer Periods on Record Across the Midlands and CSRA... Average Temperature for Summer (June...July and August) Columbia: 1. 84.8 degrees in 2016 2. 84.2 degrees in 2011 3. 83.9 degrees in 2010 4. 83.5 degrees in 2015 5. 82.6 degrees in 1993 and 1986 Augusta: 1. 83.7 degrees in 2011 2. 83.4 degrees in 1993 3. 82.9 degrees in 2010 4. 82.8 degrees in 2016 5. 82.6 degrees in 1881 Cheraw (1894-2016): 1. 81.6 degrees in 1899 2. 81.1 degrees in 1986 3. 81.0 degrees in 2011 4. 80.9 degrees in 2016...1943 and 1934 5. 80.7 degrees in 1931 Little Mountain (1894-2016): 1. 82.6 degrees in 1952 2. 82.4 degrees in 1954 3. 82.3 degrees in 2016 4. 82.0 degrees in 1899 5. 81.6 degrees in 1953 Saluda (1902-2016): 1. 83.0 degrees in 1952 2. 82.4 degrees in 2011 3. 82.3 degrees in 2016 and 2010 4. 81.8 degrees in 1993 5. 81.7 degrees in 1925 Newberry (1893-2016): 1. 82.4 degrees in 1925 2. 82.1 degrees in 2016 3. 81.9 degrees in 2010 4. 81.7 degrees in 2011 5. 81.6 degrees in 1993 and 1986 The average temperature at Augusta Regional Bush Field was 83.1 degrees or 2.6 degrees above the normal of 80.5 degrees. The average temperature at Columbia Metro Airport was 84.3 degrees or 3.5 degrees above the normal of 80.8 degrees. It was the 3rd warmest August on record at Columbia. Here are the top 5 warmest August years: 1. 85.9 degrees 2007 2. 85.1 degrees 1900 3. 84.3 degrees 2016 4. 83.8 degrees 2011 5. 83.5 degrees 2010 Augusta Bush Field received 3.66 inches of rainfall for the month. Columbia Metro Airport received 4.83 inches of rainfall for the month. Here are some of the highest rainfall CoCoRaHS Reports for August: SC-RC-42 Columbia 3.1 E...........8.57 inches SC-LN-9 Lancaster 11.0 ENE.......8.40 inches SC-LX-22 Lexington 5.9 SW.........8.29 inches SC-LX-97 Lexington 5.8 E..........7.78 inches SC-LX-43 Lexington 1.2 SW.........7.74 inches GA-CU-6 Martinez 0.9 NE..........6.15 inches GA-BK-6 Blythe 2.8 SW............5.30 inches Here are some of the highest NWS Coop Observer Reports for August: BNLS1 Barnwell 5 ENE..............7.97 inches BLYS1 Cedar Creek.................7.16 inches MANS1 Manning.....................5.31 inches WYNG1 Waynesboro..................5.27 inches USCS1 Columbia Univ. of SC........5.17 inches HIGHEST WIND GUSTS AT EACH ASOS LOCATION DURING THE MONTH: Columbia Hamilton Owens Field (CUB)...46 mph on the 1st Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........44 mph on the 2nd Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............42 mph on the 2nd Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......37 mph on the 18th Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............33 mph on the 29th HIGHEST WIND GUSTS AT EACH LAKE OBSERVING SITE DURING THE MONTH: Lake Murray Dam (RCWinds).............49 mph on the 1st Lake Murray Flotilla Island (LMFS1)...46 mph on the 2nd Lake Murray Towers (USGS).............44 mph on the 1st Lake Wateree (WATS1)..................29 mph on the 9th WATER TEMPERATURE AT THE LAKE MURRAY TOWERS (DEPTH APPROX. 6 FEET): WARMEST...89.5 degrees on the 17th COOLEST...83.5 degrees on the 31st WATER TEMPERATURE AT THE SALUDA RIVER NEAR PROSPERITY: WARMEST...91.6 degrees on the 14th COOLEST...86.0 degrees on the 31st WATER TEMPERATURE AT THE LITTLE SALUDA RIVER NEAR PROSPERITY: WARMEST...91.2 degrees on the 14th COOLEST...85.8 degrees on the 1st TEMPERATURE RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST: AUGUSTA... None COLUMBIA... None EVENTS FOR August 2016: August 1st through the 7th...A slow moving back door cold front settled southward toward the area before stalling near the area for several days. This produced strong to severe thunderstorms along with locally heavy rain across the area for several days. The most active day was August the 1st. On the 1st...heavy rain fell across the Midlands producing flooding along Rocky Branch Creek along with numerous washouts and flooding of roadways across the Midlands. The stream gage along Rocky Branch Creek at Whaley and Main Streets crested at 12.04 feet at 915 pm. This was the 3rd highest crest along Rocky Branch Creek at Whaley and Main since the gage was installed in July 2007. The two previous higher crest occurred on September 25, 2011 when the gage crested at 12.39 feet and the second occurred on October 4, 2015 when the gage crested at 12.28 feet. The severe storms downed several trees across Calhoun...Richland... Lexington...Aiken and Newberry counties. Penny size hail was reported at Trenholm Plaza and 5.26 inches of rain fell at Trenholm Park. Other notable rainfall amounts were: 3.46 inches at MLK Park in 44 minutes...3.49 inches of rainfall in 1 hour at Hamilton Owens Field and 2.91 inches of rainfall in 1 hour at the USC rain gage. Here are a few additional rainfall totals and wind reports from the 1st: Forest Acres..........5.44 inches Columbia 3.1 E........4.62 inches MLK Park..............3.82 inches Hopkins 3.9 NNE.......3.77 inches Cola Hamilton Owens...3.67 inches Lake Murray Dam..................49 mph Hamilton Owens Field (RCWinds)...48 mph Lake Murray Flotilla Island......46 mph Cola Hamilton Owens (ASOS).......46 mph Lake Murray Towers...............46 mph August 18th...A weak trof moved toward the region from the northwest. This was the focus for strong to severe thunderstorms that produced damaging winds...hail and locally heavy rainfall. The strong winds downed trees and power lines in Lexington and Bamberg counties. There was a report of dime to nickel size hail along with 1.5 inches of rain near the town of Rowesville in Orangeburg county. August 19t...Remnants of the trof stalled across the area and was once again the focus for strong to sever thunderstorms across the Midlands and CSRA. The storms were slow moving and produced locally heavy rainfall. There were reports of washed out roadways in Saluda county. The CoCoRaHS site...SC-SL-6 (Saluda 3.5 ENE)...reported 4.25 inches of rain. The USGS gage near Saluda recorded 2.84 inches of rainfall. YEAR TO DATE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION STATISTICS... COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2015/2016 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 AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2015/2016 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 COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2015/2016 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 AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2015/2016 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 THE 3-MONTH OUTLOOK FOR FALL (September/October/November)... The forecast calls for a 40 to 50 percent chance of above normal temperatures with a 33 to 40 percent chance of below normal rainfall. ENSO (EL NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION)... ...ENSO Neutral Conditions Present... ...La Nina Watch... Equatorial sea surface temperatures are near or below average across the east-central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. La Nina is favored to develop during the Northern Hemisphere early Fall 2016. There is about a 55 to 60 percent chance of La Nina during the Fall and Winter 2016-17. 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
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