January 2019 Climate Summary

...January 2019 Climate Summary...

...Warmer Than Normal Temperatures for the month...
...Near Normal Precipitation for the month...
...Minor to Moderate Flooding During the month...
...Coldest Air of the Season arrived by the end of the month...

January brought warmer than normal temperatures along with a couple 
of heavy rainfall events. The persistent river flooding that began 
in December continued through much of the month. There was one minor 
winter weather event across Lancaster County on the morning of the 
13th, but otherwise the weather was relatively calm. 

.Augusta Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at Augusta Regional Bush Field for January 
was 49.1 degrees or 3.7 degrees above the normal of 45.4 degrees.

.Columbia Average Temperatures...

The average temperature at Columbia Metro Airport for January was 
47.0 degrees or 2.2 degrees above the normal of 44.8 degrees.

.Augusta Rainfall...

Augusta Bush Field received 4.40 inches of rainfall during 
January, 0.49 inches above the normal of 3.91 inches.

.Columbia Rainfall...

Columbia Metro Airport received 3.01 inches of rainfall during 
January, 0.57 inches below the normal of 3.58 inches. 

Here are some of the highest official NWS Coop Observer monthly 
rainfall totals for January 2019:

BAMS1 Bamberg.................5.12 inches
CHPS1 Lake Greenwood..........5.05 inches
WYNG1 Waynesboro..............4.95 inches
HHLS1 Holly Hill 1 SW.........4.82 inches
JOHS1 Johnston 4 SW...........4.39 inches

Here are some of the highest unofficial CoCoRaHS monthly rainfall 
totals for January 2019:

SC-AK-14 Aiken 7.8 SSE........5.89 inches
SC-AK-59 New Ellenton 2.7 NE..5.36 inches
SC-LN-4  Lancaster 2.0 NNW....5.12 inches
SC-CF-5  Pageland 9.0 WNW.....4.39 inches
SC-ED-13 Trenton 6.5 SSW......4.38 inches

GA-MD-9  W. Augusta 0.9 NW....5.17 inches
GA-LC-2  Tignall 10.2 NNE.....4.59 inches
GA-CU-7  Grovetown 3.4 NE.....4.58 inches
GA-CU-9  Appling 2.0 E........4.54 inches
GA-BK-10 Waynesboro 5.3 SE....4.08 inches

Highest Wind Gusts at ASOS Sites during January:

Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......41 mph on the 24th
Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........41 mph on the 4th
Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............36 mph on the 19th
Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............35 mph on the 24th
Columbia Hamilton Owens Field (CUB)...34 mph on the 24th

Highest Wind Gusts on the area lakes during January:

Lake Murray Flotilla Island (LMFS1)...42 mph on the 24th
Lake Murray Towers USGS (IRMS1).......40 mph on the 20th
Lake Thurmond Dam (CHDS1).............40 mph on the 20th
Lake Wateree Dam (WATS1)..............33 mph on the 20th

Lake Murray Top Water Temperatures at The Towers for January:

Warmest...54.5F on the 9th.
Coolest...50.2F on the 31st. 

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

Augusta...January 1st, Low temperature of 64 degrees breaks the record 
high minimum of 62 degrees set in 1876.

COLUMBIA...January 1st, Low temperature of 62 degrees breaks the record 
high minimum of 60 degrees set in 1985.

Events for January 2019...

January 13...An area of low pressure moved across southern Georgia 
and then off the Southeast coast. At the same time, cold high 
pressure over Ontario was pushing cold air into Upstate and northern 
Midlands of South Carolina. The wedge of cold air brought a brief 
period of light freezing rain, mainly on elevated surfaces, to the 
northern portion of Lancaster County. 

January 24th...Strong winds associated with a cold front produced 
wind gusts in excess of 40 mph across much of the Midlands and 
Central Savannah  River Area. 

Here are a few of the highest wind gusts:

Lake Murray Flotilla Island         42 MPH               
Orangeburg Municipal Airport    41 MPH              
Sumter Municipal Airport            41 MPH               
Shaw Afb                                    41 MPH      
Columbia Metro Airport               41 MPH             
Lancaster County Airport            40 MPH     
Lake Thurmond Dam                  40 MPH              
Mcentire Ang                               40 MPH               
Aiken Municipal Airport               36 MPH               
Camden-Woodward Field           36 MPH              
1 ESE North                                36 MPH              
7 NW Camden                            36 MPH      
Columbia Hamilton-Owens Airp 35 MPH               
5 WNW Edisto                            35 MPH               
Daniel Field Airport                     35 MPH               
Newberry County Airport            35 MPH       

January 29-30...A strong arctic cold front moved across the region 
on the morning of the 29th. The coldest air of the season settled in 
over the region on the morning of the 30th as high pressure build 
southward from Canada. Temperatures fell into the upper teens to 
lower 20s across much of the Midlands and Central Savannah River 
Area. Afternoon high temperatures on the 30th only climbed into the 
40s. 

The temperature at Columbia Metro Airport fell to 22 degrees. The 
high temperature for Columbia was 47 degrees. The temperature at 
Augusta Bush Field fell to 23 degrees. The high temperature at 
Augusta was 49 degrees.   

Here are some of the coldest morning temperatures that occurred on 
the 30th:

Cedar Creek                   18 F     0800 AM 01/30   COOP                 
Graniteville, SC              18 F     0700 AM 01/30   COOP                 
3 NNE Gloverville             19 F     0801 AM 01/30   CWOP                 
Heath Springs                 19 F     0720 AM 01/30   AWS                  
Lancaster County Airport      19 F     0655 AM 01/30   AWOS   
Chapin 1 S                    19 F     0700 AM 01/30   COCORAHS              
3 NNW Blythe                  19 F     0701 AM 01/30   RAWS 
Pelion 5 W                    19 F     0700 AM 01/30   COCORAHS
Landfill                      19 F     0700 AM 01/30   RCWINDS               
2 NW Elgin                    20 F     0752 AM 01/30   CWOP                 
3 SE Ridgeway                 20 F     0735 AM 01/30   AWS                  
Thomson-Mcduffie County Airp  20 F     0655 AM 01/30   AWOS                 
4 SW Johnston                 20 F     0800 AM 01/30   COOP                 
Mccormick                     20 F     0700 AM 01/30   COOP                 
Newberry                      20 F     0800 AM 01/30   COOP  
Crossroads Fire Station       20 F     0700 AM 01/30   RCWINDS               
8 E Fort Jackson              20 F     0733 AM 01/30   RAWS                 
Wagener 1SW                   20 F     0924 AM 01/30   COOP

YEAR TO DATE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION STATISTICS...

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2018/2019 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

Jan 2019    57.7/+1.7      36.3/+2.6      47.0      44.8    +2.2 

AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2018/2019 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

Jan 2019  60.7/+2.8      37.4/+4.6     49.1       45.4    +3.7

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2018/2019 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

Jan 2019       3.07     3.58    -0.57 

AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2018/2019 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  

Jan 2019       4.40     3.91     +0.49

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

The outlook calls for equal chance of above, below and near normal 
temperatures along 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 for more details and the latest outlooks.

ENSO (EL NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION)...
...El Nino Watch Continues...

There is a 65 percent chance of a weak El Nino developing during the 
late winter into early spring 2019. Once formed it should continue 
through spring of 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 .