Public Information Statement National Weather Service Columbia SC 1125 AM EDT Tue Oct 15 2019 ...PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT... ...Climate Summary for September... ...Dry Conditions Continued, Drought Area Expands and Worsens... ...Temperatures Continue Above Normal... ...Several Record High Temperatures Broken... ...Hurricane Dorian Brushes South Carolina... Dry conditions and unseasonably warm temperatures across the Midlands and Central Savannah River Area helped to expand the area of drought across the region. The level of drought continued to worsen across the Upstate, CSRA and Lowcountry. .Augusta Average Temperatures... The average temperature at Augusta Regional Bush Field for September was 80.2 degrees or 5.6 degrees above the normal of 74.6 degrees. It was the 5th warmest September on record at Augusta. Here are the top 5 warmest September months on record: 1. 84.7 degrees in 1925 2. 81.6 degrees in 1921 3. 81.4 degrees in 2018 4. 80.4 degrees in 1911 5. 80.2 degrees in 2019 .Columbia Average Temperatures... The average temperature at Columbia Metro Airport for September was 80.9 degrees or 6.2 degrees above the normal of 74.7 degrees. It was the 4th warmest September on record at Columbia. Here are the top 5 warmest September months on record: 1. 82.6 degrees in 1925 2. 81.9 degrees in 2018 3. 81.0 degrees in 1921 4. 80.9 degrees in 2019 5. 79.5 degrees in 1933 .Augusta Rainfall... Augusta Bush Field received 0.77 inches of rainfall during September, 2.45 inches below the normal of 3.22 inches. .Columbia Rainfall... Columbia Metro Airport received 1.95 inches of rainfall during September, 1.59 inches below the normal of 3.54 inches. Here are some of the highest/lowest NWS Coop Observer monthly rainfall totals for September 2019: HHLS1 Holly Hill 1 SW..........3.53 inches ELTS1 Elliott 0.8 NW...........2.72 inches LIMS1 Little Mountain..........2.39 inches MCCS1 McCormick................0.00 inches LNCG2 Lincolnton 4.4 S.........0.00 inches BNLS1 Barnwell 5 ENE...........0.15 inches Here are some of the highest/lowest CoCoRaHS Observers monthly rainfall totals for September 2019: SC-LX-35 Lexington 2.9 NE......4.31 inches SC-CD-6 Manning 1.9 SSE.......4.18 inches SC-OR-41 Elloree 2.2 WSW.......3.88 inches GA-CU-6 Martinez 4.5 NNW......0.00 inches GA-LC-2 Tignall 10.2 ENE......0.09 inches GA-RC-12 Augusta 4.2 S.........0.15 inches Highest Wind Gusts at ASOS Sites During September: Augusta Daniel Field (DNL)............44 mph on the 13th Augusta Bush Field (AGS)..............44 mph on the 10th Orangeburg County Airport (OGB).......42 mph on the 30th Columbia Metro Airport (CAE)..........34 mph on the 27th Columbia Hamilton Owens Field (CUB)...29 mph on the 30th Highest Wind Gusts on the area lakes during September: Lake Murray Towers USGS (IRMS1).......38 mph on the 5th Lake Murray Flotilla Island (LMFS1)...33 mph on the 12th Lake Thurmond Dam (CHDS1).............32 mph on the 13th Lake Wateree Dam (WATS1)..............28 mph on the 5th Lake Murray Water Temperatures (near surface) at The Towers for September: Warmest...84.6F on the 12th and 13th Coolest...79.5F on the 19th and 20th Temperature/Precipitation Records Tied or Broken during the month of September: Columbia... 9/26...Minimum temperature was 75 degrees. The previous highest minimum temperature was 73 degrees set in 2016 and 1993. 9/26...Maximum temperature reached 99 degrees. Previous record was 97 degrees set in 1984. 9/27...Minimum temperature was 73 degrees. This tied the previous highest minimum temperature set in 2002. 9/30...Maximum temperature reached 99 degrees. Previous record was 94 degrees set in 1904. Augusta... 9/25...Maximum temperature reached 98 degrees. Previous record was 96 degrees set in 2010 and 1931. 9/26...Maximum temperature reached 97 degrees. Previous record was 96 degrees set in 1984. 9/27...Maximum temperature reached 99 degrees. Previous record was 96 degrees set in 1986. 9/29...Maximum temperature reached 97 degrees. Previous record was 96 degrees set in 1941. 9/30...Maximum temperature reached 101 degrees. Previous record was 96 degrees set in 1904. Events... 9/5...Hurricane Dorian moved northward just off the South Carolina coast during the day of the 5th. Dorian produced heavy rainfall along and east of the I-95 corridor. Dorian also produced strong gusty winds as far west at the Midlands of South Carolina. ...Total Rainfall Reports for Hurricane Dorian Across the Midlands and Central Savannah River Area... Location Amount Time/Date Provider ...South Carolina... ...Bamberg County... Ehrhardt 0.2 SE 0.53 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Bamberg 0.32 in 0930 AM 09/06 COOP Denmark 2.8 WNW 0.13 in 0800 AM 09/06 COCORAHS ...Calhoun County... Swansea 5.7 ENE 0.18 in 0800 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Swansea 3.9 ENE 0.17 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS ...Chesterfield County... Jefferson 7e 0.64 in 1114 AM 09/06 HADS Carolina Sandhills 0.64 in 1114 AM 09/06 RAWS Cheraw 0.59 in 1118 AM 09/06 CWOP Usgs Raingage 0.56 in 1115 AM 09/06 USGS Black Creek 0.49 in 1100 AM 09/06 HADS Usgs Raingage 0.26 in 1100 AM 09/06 USGS ...Clarendon County... Manning 1.9 SSE 2.12 in 0800 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Santee Nwr 0.92 in 1044 AM 09/06 RAWS ...Fairfield County... Ridgeway 0.12 in 1123 AM 09/06 CWOP ...Kershaw County... Camden 6.6 NE 0.36 in 0800 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Lugoff 0.9 NW 0.34 in 0900 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Wells Ker-433 And Ker-435 0.20 in 1000 AM 09/06 HADS Elgin 0.13 in 1123 AM 09/06 CWOP ...Lee County... Lynches River 0.70 in 1100 AM 09/06 HADS ...Lexington County... West Columbia 5.9 WSW 0.02 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Irmo 1.0 WNW 0.01 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Lexington 3.3 SSE 0.01 in 0845 AM 09/06 COCORAHS ...Orangeburg County... Santee 1.06 in 1124 AM 09/06 CWOP Santee 6.9 WSW 1.00 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Elloree 2.2 WSW 0.65 in 0800 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Orangeburg 0.40 in 0800 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Orangeburg 3.2 NW 0.34 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS North 5.1 NE 0.34 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Neeses 7.0 SE 0.33 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Orangeburg 0.29 in 1116 AM 09/06 RAWS Orangeburg 0.26 in 1121 AM 09/06 CWOP Orangeburg 0.22 in 1053 AM 09/06 ASOS North Fork Edisto River 0.20 in 1100 AM 09/06 HADS Orangeburg 0.16 in 1121 AM 09/06 CWOP South Fork Edisto River 0.09 in 1100 AM 09/06 HADS North Aux 0.09 in 1056 AM 09/06 AWOS ...Richland County... Congaree 0.33 in 1047 AM 09/06 RAWS Mccrady Training Center 0.32 in 1133 AM 09/06 RAWS Mcentire Ang 0.23 in 1056 AM 09/06 AWOS Weir Tower 0.21 in 1051 AM 09/06 RAWS Columbia 6.8 NNE 0.16 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Columbia 0.11 in 1115 AM 09/06 CWOP Columbia Hamilton-Owens Airp 0.11 in 1053 AM 09/06 ASOS Columbia 8.8 N 0.11 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Blythewood 4.7 SSE 0.11 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Columbia 6.7 N 0.10 in 0700 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Columbia 0.06 in 1116 AM 09/06 CWOP ...Sumter County... Sumter 0.3 ENE 1.02 in 0800 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Sumter 0.2 NE 1.02 in 0600 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Sumter 0.88 in 1101 AM 09/06 CWOP Sumter 0.83 in 1116 AM 09/06 CWOP Sumter 1.9 W 0.81 in 0600 AM 09/06 COCORAHS Pinewood 0.78 in 1101 AM 09/06 CWOP Pinewood 0.69 in 1100 AM 09/06 CWOP Wedgefield 0.33 in 1100 AM 09/06 CWOP Shaw AFB Sumter 0.15 in 1056 AM 09/06 AWOS ...Highest Wind Gusts from Hurricane Dorian across the Midlands of SC and Central Savannah River Area of GA... Location Speed Provider Santee Cooper Apt Manning SC 48 MPH AWOS North SC Aux Air Field 40 MPH AWOS McEntire JNG Base Eastover SC 39 MPH AWOS Cheraw SC 38 MPH AWOS Orangeburg SC Apt 36 MPH ASOS Orangeburg SC 36 MPH RAWS Barnwell SC 35 MPH AWOS Shaw AFB Sumter SC 35 MPH AWOS ETV Williams-Brice Stadium 31 MPH MESOWEST Augusta GA Bush Field 31 MPH ASOS Sumter SC Municipal Apt 31 MPH AWOS Wedgefield SC 30 MPH CWOP 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 The 3-Month Outlook for Fall/Winter (October/November/December)... The outlook calls for a 33 to 40 percent chance of above normal rainfall along with a 40 percent chance of above normal temperatures. 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)... ENSO-neutral conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures are above average across the western Pacific Ocean and are below average across the eastern Pacific Ocean. ENSO-neutral conditions is most likely to continue through the Northern Hemisphere fall 2019, continuing through spring 2020. There is a 55 to 60 percent chance of these conditions continuing into the spring 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 . $$ LCV