Climate Summary September 2014

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
643 AM EDT WED OCT 8 2014

...SEPTEMBER 2014 CLIMATE SUMMARY...

...SIGNIFICANT FLASH FLOOD EVENT IN LANCASTER AND CHESTERFIELD
COUNTIES...
...WEAK EF0 TORNADO IN ORANGEBURG COUNTY...
...RAINFALL VARIED WIDELY ACROSS THE REGION...
...TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH...


TEMPERATURES DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER AVERAGED SLIGHTLY ABOVE
NORMAL. HOWEVER...RAINFALL ACROSS THE MIDLANDS AND CENTRAL SAVANNAH
RIVER AREA WAS EXTREMELY VARIABLE DEPENDING ON YOUR LOCATION. AT
TIMES THE RAINFALL WAS EXTREMELY HEAVY AND LOCALIZED. THIS LED TO
SOME OF THE WORST FLOODING SEEN IN RECENT HISTORY ACROSS LANCASTER
AND CHESTERFIELD COUNTIES. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM 4 TO 6 INCHES IN
JUST 3 HOURS PRODUCED FLASH FLOODING DURING THE NIGHT OF THE 18TH
AND 19TH. THE HEAVY RAIN WASHED OUT ROADWAYS...CULVERTS AND MADE
MANY ROADS IMPASSABLE. THERE WERE ALSO SEVERAL DAYS WHEN SEVERE
WEATHER OCCURRED. ON THE 7TH...A WEAK EF0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR
THE TOWN OF VANCE IN ORANGEBURG COUNTY. THERE WAS ALSO ONE FLASH
FLOOD EVENT ALONG ROCKY BRANCH CREEK IN DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA ON THE
AFTERNOON OF THE 7TH.

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT AUGUSTA REGIONAL BUSH FIELD WAS 75.7
DEGREES OR 1.1 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 74.6 DEGREES. THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE AT COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT WAS 76.7 DEGREES OR 2.0
DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL 74.7 DEGREES.

RAINFALL AVERAGED 4 TO 5 INCHES ACROSS THE MIDLANDS DURING
SEPTEMBER. THE DRIEST AREA WAS ACROSS THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER
AREA WHERE ONLY 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN FELL. THE AREAS THAT SAW THE
MOST RAINFALL STRETCHED FROM NEWBERRY COUNTY NORTHEAST ACROSS THE
NORTHERN MIDLANDS INTO CHESTERFIELD COUNTY. SOME LOCATIONS RECEIVED
OVER 10 INCHES OF RAINFALL.


HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST COCORAHS RAINFALL REPORTS FOR SEPTEMBER:
...COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE RAIN HAIL AND SNOW
NETWORK......WWW.COCORAHS.ORG

SC-LN-8  LANCASTER 0.4 WSW.............10.45 INCHES
SC-LN-4  LANCASTER 2.0 NNW.............10.10 INCHES
SC-CF-5  PAGELAND 9.0 WNW.............. 9.10 INCHES
SC-OR-3  NORTH 0.3 W....................8.08 INCHES
SC-AK-58 AIKEN 3.6 S....................7.91 INCHES
SC-AK-34 AIKEN 2.4 SSW..................7.39 INCHES
SC-AK-39 N. AUGUSTA 1.5 WSW.............7.14 INCHES
SC-LN-9  LANCASTER 11.0 ENE.............6.79 INCHES
SC-RC-59 IRMO 4.1 NNE...................6.78 INCHES
SC-OR-22 SANTEE 6.9 WSW.................6.67 INCHES

A FEW REPORTS FROM GEORGIA...

GA-CU-6  MARTINEZ 0.9 NW................5.69 INCHES
GA-CU-3  EVANS 2.1 NNW..................4.41 INCHES
GA-BK-1  WAYNESBORO 3.3 SW..............3.35 INCHES


HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST NWS COOP OBSERVER REPORTS FOR SEPTEMBER:

WATS1 WATEREE DAM...............8.17 INCHES
CTFS1 CHESTERFIELD 3E...........7.71 INCHES
CEWS1 CHERAW WATER PLANT........7.32 INCHES
SPRS1 SPRINGFIELD...............6.46 INCHES
PLNS1 PELION 4NW................6.24 INCHES
AKIS1 AIKEN 2E..................6.22 INCHES
LIMS1 LITTLE MOUNTAIN...........6.15 INCHES
BLYS1 CEDAR CREEK...............5.90 INCHES
BAMS1 BAMBERG...................5.75 INCHES
LUGS1 LUGOFF 2NE................5.63 INCHES


HERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL RAINFALL TOTALS FROM THE RICHLAND COUNTY
MESONET (RCWINDS) FOR SEPTEMBER:

HORRELL HILL...............6.46 INCHES
DUTCH FORK HIGH SCHOOL.....5.98 INCHES
ST. ANDREWS................5.59 INCHES
LANDFILL...................5.55 INCHES
GILLS CREEK................5.08 INCHES


HIGHEST WIND GUSTS AT EACH ASOS LOCATION DURING THE MONTH:

COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT (CAE)......36 MPH ON THE 2ND
AUGUSTA DANIEL FIELD (DNL)........35 MPH ON THE 2ND
ORANGEBURG COUNTY AIRPORT (OGB0...32 MPH ON THE 17TH
HAMILTON OWENS AIRPORT (CUB)......30 MPH ON THE 2ND AND 19TH
AUGUSTA BUSH FIELD (AGS)..........29 MPH ON THE 2ND


HIGHEST WIND GUSTS AT EACH LAKE OBSERVING SITE DURING THE MONTH:

LAKE WATEREE DAM (WATS1)................38 MPH ON THE 2ND
LAKE MURRAY FLOTILLA ISLAND (LMFS1).....33 MPH ON THE 12TH
CLARKS HILL LAKE THURMOND DAM (CHDS1)...33 MPH ON THE 2ND AND 3RD
LAKE MURRAY TOWERS (IRMS1)..............27 MPH ON THE 2ND AND 12TH


WATER TEMPERATURE AT THE LAKE MURRAY TOWERS (DEPTH APPROX. 6 FEET):
WARMEST...85 DEGREES ON THE 6TH
COOLEST...74 DEGREES ON THE 30TH


RECORDS TIED OR BROKEN DURING THE MONTH AT SEPTEMBER:

NO RECORDS WERE EITHER TIED OR BROKEN AT AUGUSTA

ON THE 2ND...THE HIGH TEMPERATURE REACHED 99 DEGREES AT COLUMBIA
METRO AIRPORT. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 98 DEGREES SET IN
1993 AND 1944.


EVENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2014:

SEPTEMBER 1ST...
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED ACROSS THE REGION AS
TEMPERATURES CLIMBED INTO THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 90S. THERE WERE
SEVERAL REPORTS OF DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES IN RICHLAND AND
BARNWELL COUNTIES.

SEPTEMBER 2ND...
A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH WAS LOCATED ACROSS THE MIDLANDS. THIS WAS THE
FOCUS FOR SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE
MIDLANDS. THERE WAS A REPORT OF NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL IN AIKEN
COUNTY. THERE WERE SEVERAL REPORTS OF TREES DOWN ACROSS THE
MIDLANDS. A SEVERE STORM IN CHESTERFIELD COUNTY DOWNED SEVERAL TREES
ALONG THE CHERAW STATE PARK GOLF COURSE.

SEPTEMBER 3RD...
WIDELY SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED ACROSS THE NORTHERN
CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA AND WESTERN MIDLANDS. THE STORMS
PRODUCED STRONG WINDS THAT DOWNED A FEW TREES.

SEPTEMBER 4TH...
A COLLAPSING THUNDERSTORM NEAR THE LEXINGTON SIDE OF LAKE MURRAY
NEAR THE DAM MOVED NORTHWEST ACROSS THE LAKE. THE STORM PRODUCED
STRONG WINDS ALONG THE LEXINGTON COUNTY SHORELINE AND THE LEXINGTON
SIDE OF THE DAM. THE LAKE MURRAY RCWINDS SITE REPORTED A 36 MPH WIND
GUST. THE NWS SITE AT FLOTILLA ISLAND REPORTED A 30 MPH WIND GUST.
THE STORMS MAY HAVE PRODUCED WINDS UP TO 40 MPH WITH WAVES OF 2 TO 4
FEET.

SEPTEMBER 7TH...
THIS WAS A BUSY DAY ACROSS THE REGION. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED
A WEAK EF0 TORNADO NEAR THE TOWN OF VANCE IN ORANGEBURG COUNTY. A
NWS SURVEY INDICATED THAT THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 3 SEPARATE TIMES.
THE TORNADO PRODUCED CROP DAMAGE AND REMOVED TWO-THIRDS OF A ROOM
FROM A MOBILE HOME. SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED FLOODING
ALONG ROCKY BRANCH CREEK IN DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA. THE HIGH WATER
FLOODED SEVERAL VEHICLES. THE STREAM CRESTED AT 9.9 FEET AT THE GAGE
AT PICKENS STREET AT 515 PM. THE STREAM THEN CRESTED AT 10.7 FEET
DOWNSTREAM AT THE GAGE AT WHALEY AND MAIN STREETS. THIS ACTIVITY WAS
ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK SURFACE WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE THAT DEVELOPED
ALONG A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT.

HERE ARE SOME RAINFALL TOTALS ON THE 7TH:
COCORAHS REPORT NEAR 5PTS/USC.....2.32 INCHES
UNIV. OF SC RAIN GAGE.............2.29 INCHES
MLK PARK (RCWINDS)................2.17 INCHES
HAMILTON OWENS AIRPORT (CUB)......2.05 INCHES
HEADQUARTERS (RCWINDS)............1.73 INCHES

SEPTEMBER 13TH...
SLOW MOVING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT PRODUCED
LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHERN LANCASTER COUNTY
AND NEWBERRY COUNTY. SOME AREAS HAD 1 TO 2 FEET OF WATER ACROSS
ROADWAYS.

SEPTEMBER 16TH...
A COLD FRONT MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION PRODUCE ISOLATED
STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS LANCASTER COUNTY. LIGHTNING
STRUCK A HOME CAUSING A HOUSE FIRE JUST WEST OF THE CITY OF
LANCASTER. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DOWNED SEVERAL TREES ACROSS THE
COUNTY.

SEPTEMBER 17TH...
WIDELY SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED ACROSS THE
MIDLANDS AND CSRA. ONE STORM PRODUCED QUARTER SIZE HAIL AND DOWNED
POWER LINES IN ORANGEBURG COUNTY. ANOTHER SEVERE STORM NEAR THE
RICHMOND AND BURKE COUNTY LINE NEAR THE SAVANNAH RIVER PRODUCED GOLF
BALL SIZE HAIL.

SEPTEMBER 18TH AND 19TH...
A WEAK SHORT WAVE AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD FRONT PRODUCED SLOW
MOVING STORMS THAT PRODUCED FLASH FLOODING ACROSS LANCASTER AND
CHESTERFIELD COUNTIES. DURING A SPAN OF APPROXIMATELY 3 HOURS
OVERNIGHT...4 TO 6 INCHES OF RAIN FELL. THIS WAS BASED ON COCORAHS
RAINFALL REPORTS AND RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES. THE HEAVY RAIN
DAMAGED OR MADE IMPASSABLE 12 COUNTY ROADS AND 3 STATE ROADS. THE
LANCASTER EM REPORTED THAT SEVERAL ROADS...BRIDGES AND CULVERTS WERE
WASHED OUT.

HERE ARE A FEW RAINFALL REPORTS FROM THE EVENT:
COCORAHS...SC-CF-5  PAGELAND 9.0 WNW......6.09 INCHES
COCORAHS...SC-LN-9  LANCASTER 11.0 ENE....5.76 INCHES
COCORAHS...SC-LN-8  LANCASTER 0.4 WSW.....1.88 INCHES
NWS COOP...LAKE WATEREE (WATS1)...........1.36 INCHES
COCORAHS...SC-LN-4  LANCASTER 2.0 NNW.....1.19 INCHES

SEPTEMBER 22ND...
A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPED ALONG A FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT WAS
NEAR THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST. AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN
BAMBERG COUNTY PRODUCED NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL ALONG WITH LIMBS
AND TREES DOWN ON POWER LINES.



YEAR TO DATE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION STATISTICS...

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2013/2014 MONTHLY AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES AND DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

          AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP   NORM  DEPARTURE
JAN 2013  64.0/+8.0      41.1/+7.4      52.5      44.8    +7.7
FEB       59.2/-1.1      36.2/-0.6      47.7      48.5    -0.8
MAR       63.5/-4.7      38.5/-4.5      51.0      55.6    -4.6
APR       76.7/+0.4      53.4/+3.0      65.0      63.4    +1.6
MAY       81.4/-2.4      59.2/-0.3      70.3      71.7    -1.4
JUN       88.1/-1.9      70.1/+1.9      79.1      79.1     0.0
JUL       88.4/-4.3      72.7/+1.1      80.5      82.2    -1.7
AUG       87.6/-3.1      71.0/ 0.0      79.3      80.8    -1.5
SEP       86.9/+1.7      65.5/+0.3      76.2      74.7    +1.5
OCT       77.9/+1.8      54.8/+2.7      66.3      64.1    +2.2
NOV       65.0/-2.3      40.5/-1.8      52.7      54.8    -2.1
DEC       62.5/+4.3      40.6/+5.3      51.5      46.7    +4.8
ANNUAL    75.1/-0.4      53.6/+1.2      64.4      63.9    +0.5

JAN 2014  52.4/-3.6      28.1/-5.6      40.3      44.8    -4.5
FEB       60.3/ 0.0      37.4/+0.6      48.9      48.5    +0.4
MAR       65.2/-3.0      39.1/-3.9      52.2      55.6    -3.4
APR       78.3/+2.0      52.8/+2.4      65.6      63.4    +2.2
MAY       86.4/+2.6      62.2/+2.7      74.3      71.7    +2.6
JUN       92.4/+2.4      71.6/+3.4      82.0      79.1    +2.9
JUL       92.7/ 0.0      73.4/+1.8      83.0      82.2    +0.8
AUG       92.2/+1.5      71.7/+0.7      82.0      80.8    +1.2
SEP       84.9/-0.3      68.4/+4.2      76.7      74.7    +2.0

AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2013/2014 MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND
DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL...

          AVG HIGH/DEP   AVG LOW/DEP   AVG TEMP   NORM  DEPARTURE
JAN 2013  65.4/+7.5      39.4/+6.6     52.4       45.4    +7.0
FEB       59.8/-2.5      35.5/-0.4     47.6       49.1    -1.5
MAR       63.8/-6.1      37.9/-4.1     50.8       55.9    -5.1
APR       76.2/-1.1      48.5/+0.4     62.4       62.7    -0.3
MAY       81.0/-4.0      55.8/-1.5     68.4       71.1    -2.7
JUN       88.2/-2.8      67.4/+1.2     77.8       78.6    -0.8
JUL       87.9/-5.5      71.0/+1.2     79.5       81.6    -2.1
AUG       87.7/-4.1      68.6/-0.7     78.2       80.5    -2.3
SEP       87.2/+0.5      61.8/-0.8     74.5       74.6    -0.1
OCT       78.4/+0.7      51.9/+0.9     65.2       64.4    +0.8
NOV       65.9/-3.2      38.7/-2.7     52.3       55.2    -2.9
DEC       62.5/+2.5      38.0/+3.5     50.3       47.2    +3.1
ANNUAL    75.3/-1.6      51.2/+0.2     63.3       63.9    -0.6

JAN 2014  52.7/-5.2      26.3/-6.5     39.5       45.4    -5.9
FEB       61.9/-2.5      34.9/ 0.0     48.4       49.1    -0.7
MAR       66.1/-3.8      37.6/-4.4     51.9       55.9    -4.0
APR       77.3/ 0.0      49.1/+1.0     63.2       62.7    +0.5
MAY       85.3/+0.3      58.0/+0.7     71.6       71.7    +0.5
JUN       90.7/-0.3      67.2/+1.0     78.9       78.6    +0.3
JUL       92.2/-1.2      68.4/-1.4     80.3       81.6    -1.3
AUG       91.7/-0.1      67.6/-1.7     79.7       80.5    -0.8
SEP       84.9/-1.8      66.6/+4.0     75.7       74.6    +1.1

COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT 2013/2014 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2013       1.21     3.58    -2.37
FEB            5.51     3.61    +1.90
MAR            3.65     3.73    -0.08
APR            4.63     2.62    +2.01
MAY            3.62     2.97    +0.65
JUN            6.17     4.69    +1.48
JUL           11.21     5.46    +5.75
AUG            7.51     5.26    +2.25
SEP            2.04     3.54    -1.50
OCT            1.98     3.17    -1.19
NOV            2.06     2.74    -0.68
DEC            5.88     3.22    +2.66
ANNUAL        55.47    44.59   +10.88

JAN 2014       3.40     3.58    -0.18
FEB            2.92     3.61    -0.69
MAR            3.93     3.73    +0.20
APR            2.99     2.62    +0.37
MAY            5.72     2.97    +2.75
JUN            1.41     4.69    -3.28
JUL            2.83     5.46    -2.63
AUG            4.88     5.26    -0.38
SEP            2.81     3.54    -0.73

AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD 2013/2014 MONTHLY PRECIPITATION...

               TOTAL   NORMAL   DEPARTURE
              (INCHES)
JAN 2013       0.60     3.91     -3.31
FEB            9.40     3.92     +5.48
MAR            3.11     4.18     -1.07
APR            4.23     2.84     +1.39
MAY            2.26     2.65     -0.39
JUN           10.83     4.72     +6.11
JUL            9.05     4.33     +4.72
AUG            5.84     4.32     +1.52
SEP            1.12     3.22     -2.10
OCT            0.36     3.27     -2.91
NOV            1.82     2.82     -1.00
DEC            6.90     3.39     +3.51
ANNUAL        55.54    43.57    +11.97

JAN 2014       2.48     3.91     -1.43
FEB            3.73     3.92     -0.19
MAR            2.56     4.18     -1.62
APR            4.59     2.84     +1.75
MAY            5.50     2.65     +2.85
JUN            2.27     4.72     -2.45
JUL            5.53     4.33     +1.20
AUG            1.76     4.32     -2.56
SEP            2.26     3.22     -0.96


THE OUTLOOK FOR OCTOBER...

THE FORECAST CALLS FOR A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND EQUAL CHANCES THAT PRECIPITATION WILL EITHER BE
BELOW...ABOVE OR NEAR NORMAL.

THE 3-MONTH OUTLOOK FOR FALL (OCT/NOV/DEC)...

THE FORECAST CALLS FOR A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURE AND AROUND 33 PERCENT CHANCE THAT PRECIPITATION WILL BE
ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE 3-MONTH PERIOD.

ENSO (EL NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION)...
...A EL NINO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE LATE SUMMER OR EARLY
FALL...
AN EL NINO WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF EL NINO CONDITIONS WITHIN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.

AT THIS TIME...ENSO NEUTRAL CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS THE
EQUATORIAL PACIFIC OCEAN. SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES ARE ABOVE AVERAGE
ACROSS MOST OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. THE CHANCES OF EL NINO DEVELOPING
IS 60 TO 65 PERCENT DURING THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE FALL AND WINTER.
ENSO MODELS INDICATE THAT EL NINO CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE
OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER PERIOD AND PERSIST THROUGH THE NORTHERN
HEMISPHERE WINTER 2014-15. AT THIS TIME...IT LOOKS AS THOUGH THE EL
NINO THAT DOES DEVELOP WILL BE WEAK.

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 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