Public Information Statement
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1012 PM EST JAN 01 2012
...DECEMBER 2011 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE MIDLANDS AND CSRA...
...TEMPERATURES WELL ABOVE NORMAL AT BOTH AUGUSTA AND COLUMBIA...
...DRY WEATHER CONTINUES ACROSS THE AREA...
...10TH DRIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD AT COLUMBIA...
...14TH WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD AT COLUMBIA...
...17TH DRIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD AT AUGUSTA...
DECEMBER WAS UNSEASONABLY WARM ACROSS THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA. THE DRY CONDITIONS
CONTINUED ONCE AGAIN WITH MOST AREAS RECEIVING BELOW NORMAL
RAINFALL. THE MID/UPPER LEVEL WEATHER PATTERN KEPT THE REGION MILD
AS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE PERSISTED ACROSS THE WESTERN PORTION OF
THE COUNTRY WHILE A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE REMAINED ACROSS THE
SOUTHEAST. THERE WERE BRIEF INTRUSIONS OF COLD AIR...BUT THE PATTERN
WAS VERY PROGRESSIVE AND SYSTEMS MOVED STEADILY FROM WEST TO EAST
MOSTLY REMAINING NORTH OF THE REGION. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ACROSS
THE REGION RANGED FROM 3 TO 5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. IT WAS THE 14TH
WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD AT COLUMBIA WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
OF 51.5 DEGREES OR +4.8 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. IT WAS THE 10TH DRIEST
DECEMBER ON RECORD AT COLUMBIA AS ONLY 1.11 INCHES OF RAIN FELL.
THIS WAS 2.11 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 3.22 INCHES. IT WAS THE
17TH DRIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD AT AUGUSTA AS ONLY 1.28 INCHES OF
RAIN FELL. THIS WAS 2.11 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 3.39 INCHES. THE
LAST MONTH AUGUSTA BUSH FIELD RECEIVED ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL WAS
MARCH 2011. THE LAST TIME COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT RECEIVED ABOVE
NORMAL RAINFALL WAS THIS PAST SUMMER...JULY 2011. LOOKING AT THE
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURES FOR COLUMBIA...THERE WERE ONLY 2 MONTHS
IN 2011 THAT WERE BELOW NORMAL. THEY WERE JANUARY AND OCTOBER.
LOOKING AT THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURES FOR AUGUSTA...THERE WERE
ONLY 3 MONTHS BELOW NORMAL. THEY WERE JANUARY...OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER.
ALTHOUGH MORE INFORMATION WILL BE ISSUED LATER...HERE IS A SNEAK
PEEK AT SOME INTERESTING STATISTICS FOR 2011:
2011 WAS TIED WITH 1933 FOR THE 2ND WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD AT
COLUMBIA. THE AVERAGE YEARLY TEMPERATURE AT COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT
WAS 65.9 DEGREES OR +2.0 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 63.9 DEGREES.
THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD IS 1990 WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF
66.5 DEGREES.
2011 WAS THE 4TH DRIEST YEAR ON RECORD AT AUGUSTA. THE TOTAL ANNUAL
RAINFALL AT AUGUSTA BUSH FIELD WAS 29.43 INCHES OR -14.14 INCHES
BELOW NORMAL. NORMAL YEARLY RAINFALL IS 43.57 INCHES. THIS MEANS
THAT AUGUSTA ONLY RECEIVED 68 PERCENT OF NORMAL RAINFALL FOR THE
YEAR.
HERE ARE THE PEAK WIND GUSTS FOR THE MONTH AT EACH STATION:
AUGUSTA REGIONAL BUSH FIELD.....44 MPH ON THE 27TH
AUGUSTA DANIEL FIELD............35 MPH ON THE 7TH
ORANGEBURG AIRPORT..............48 MPH ON THE 7TH
COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT..........43 MPH ON THE 7TH
OWENS FIELD DOWNTOWN AIRPORT....38 MPH ON THE 7TH
CHECKING SOME OF THE MONTHLY RAINFALL TOTALS FROM OUR COOPERATIVE
WEATHER OBSERVERS MANY LOCATIONS ONLY RECEIVED BETWEEN 1 AND 2
INCHES OF RAIN DURING THE MONTH.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST TOTALS RECORDED DURING THE MONTH:
JOHNSTON (JOHS1)..................2.65 INCHES
CEDAR CREEK (BLYS1)...............2.49 INCHES
LAKE GREENWOOD (CHPS1)............2.32 INCHES
PELION (PLNS1)....................2.21 INCHES
NEWBERRY (NWYS1)..................2.07 INCHES
HERE ARE SOME OF THE LOWEST TOTALS RECORDED DURING THE MONTH:
LUGOFF 2 NE (LUGS1)...............0.93 INCHES
LAKE WATEREE (WATS1)..............0.93 INCHES
CHESTERFIELD (CTFS1)..............1.06 INCHES
CHERAW FILTER PLANT (CEWS1).......1.08 INCHES
HOLLY HILL (HHLS1)................1.08 INCHES
CHECKING SOME OF THE MONTHLY RAINFALL TOTALS FROM OUR COCORAHS
(COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE RAIN...HAIL AND SNOW NETWORK) OBSERVERS.
MOST OF THE OBSERVERS RECEIVED BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES OF RAIN DURING
THE MONTH.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST TOTALS RECORDED DURING THE MONTH:
SC-AK-13 (NORTH AUGUSTA 3.3 N)...2.71 INCHES
SC-LN-02 (FORT MILL 3.5 ENE).....2.52 INCHES
SC-LX-39 (GILBERT 1.2 SSW).......2.42 INCHES
SC-AK-14 (AIKEN 7.8 SSE).........2.32 INCHES
SC-KR-03 (CAMDEN 4.2 ENE)........2.21 INCHES
SC-AK-26 (AIKEN 2.3 S)...........2.17 INCHES
SC-FR-01 (WINNSBORO 0.1 NE)......2.13 INCHES
RAINFALL TOTALS AT OFFICIAL NWS ASOS SITES FOR THE MONTH:
COLUMBIA OWENS FIELD (CUB)........1.20 INCHES
ORANGEBURG AIRPORT (OGB)..........1.90 INCHES
COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT (CAE)......1.11 INCHES
AUGUSTA DANIEL FIELD (DNL)........2.07 INCHES
AUGUSTA REGIONAL BUSH FIELD (AGS).1.28 INCHES
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS...
ON THE 26TH-27TH...A CLOSED LOW ACROSS WEST TEXAS BEGAN TO OPEN UP
AND MOVE NORTHEAST THROUGH THE PERIOD. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE AND
THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WITH THE SYSTEM PRODUCED WIDESPREAD RAIN
ACROSS THE REGION. MANY OF THE AMOUNTS RANGED FROM 1 TO 1 1/2
INCHES. THE SYSTEM ALSO PRODUCE SOME ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER AS A
SQUALL LINE DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THE STRONG COLD FRONT MOVED ACROSS
THE REGION ON THE 27TH. THE WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SQUALL LINE
BROUGHT DOWN LARGE BRANCHES IN ORANGEBURG...DOWNED A TREE NEAR FORT
JACKSON AND A TREE IN SANTEE. THERE WAS A PEAK WIND GUST AT FLOTILLA
ISLAND ON LAKE MURRAY OF 41 MPH AND A PEAK WIND GUST OF 40 MPH AT
SHAW AFB AS THE LINE PASSED THROUGH THE REGION.
ON THE 29TH...A COLD AIRMASS SETTLED IN OVER THE AREA AND PRODUCED
WIDESPREAD TEMPERATURES IN THE 20S. HERE ARE SOME OF THE MORNING
LOWS ON THE 29TH:
PELION (PLNS1)......................19 DEGREES
CEDAR CREEK (BLYS1).................22 DEGREES
CHESTERFIELD (CTFS1)................24 DEGREES
LUGOFF 2 NE (LUGS1).................24 DEGREES
TEMPERATURES...
RECORD DAILY TEMPERATURES FOR APRIL 2011 FOR COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN
AIRPORT (CAE) AND AUGUSTA BUSH FIELD (AGS):
AT COLUMBIA...
ON THE 22ND...HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 76 DEGREES. THIS TIED THE RECORD
OF 76 DEGREES SET IN 1990.
AT AUGUSTA...
ON THE 22ND...HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 77 DEGREES. THIS BROKE THE RECORD
HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 76 DEGREES SET IN 1889.
COLDEST TEMP OF THE MONTH
CAE 27 29TH
AGS 24 29TH
WARMEST TEMP OF THE MONTH
CAE 77 16TH
AGS 78 6TH
COLUMBIA SC METROPOLITAN AIRPORT (CAE) AVERAGE TEMPERATURE...
AVG HIGH/DEEP AVG LOW/DEEP AVG TEMP NORMAL DEPARTURE
JAN 2010 52.4/-2.7 29.6/-4.4 41.0 44.6 -3.6
FEB 51.8/-7.7 31.2/-5.1 41.5 47.9 -6.4
MAR 65.7/-1.7 41.1/-2.4 53.4 55.4 -2.0
APR 80.3/+4.6 51.3/+0.6 65.8 63.2 +2.6
MAY 86.6/+3.5 65.3/+5.3 76.0 71.6 +4.4
JUN 94.6/+5.5 72.8/+4.9 83.7 78.5 +5.2
JUL 95.1/+3.0 73.7/+1.9 84.4 82.0 +2.4
AUG 92.3/+2.3 74.6/+4.6 83.5 80.3 +3.2
SEP 91.3/+6.5 66.6/+2.0 78.9 74.7 +4.2
OCT 79.8/+4.0 51.2/-0.3 65.5 63.7 +1.8
NOV 68.3/+1.6 41.9/-0.7 55.1 54.7 +0.4
DEC 51.1/-6.7 28.2/-7.9 39.6 47.0 -7.4
ANNUAL 75.8/+0.5 52.3/+0.7 64.0 63.6 +0.4
JAN 2011 52.7/-2.4 30.7/-5.5 41.7 44.6 -2.9
FEB 64.6/+5.1 39.7/+3.4 52.2 47.9 +4.3
MAR 68.6/+1.2 45.7/+2.2 57.1 55.4 +1.7
APR 80.9/+5.2 54.6/+3.9 67.8 63.2 +4.6
MAY 85.5/+2.4 62.8/+2.8 74.2 71.6 +2.6
JUN 95.2/+6.1 71.4/+3.5 83.3 78.5 +4.8
JUL 96.4/+3.7 74.6/+3.0 85.5 82.2 +3.3
AUG 94.5/+3.8 73.0/+2.0 83.8 80.8 +3.0
SEP 86.9/+1.7 65.9/+1.7 76.4 74.7 +1.7
OCT 74.7/-1.4 49.3/-2.8 62.0 64.1 -2.1
NOV 69.2/+1.9 42.1/-0.2 55.6 54.8 +0.8
DEC 64.4/+6.2 38.7/+3.4 51.5 46.7 +4.8
ANNUAL 77.8/+2.3 54.0/+1.6 65.9 63.9 +2.0
AUGUSTA GA BUSH FIELD (AGS) AVERAGE TEMPERATURE...
AVG HIGH/DEEP AVG LOW/DEEP AVG TEMP NORMAL DEPARTURE
JAN 2010 53.9/-2.6 29.5/-3.6 41.7 44.8 -3.1
FEB 53.6/-7.7 30.6/-4.9 42.1 48.4 -6.3
MAR 66.0/-3.2 39.5/-3.0 52.8 55.9 -3.1
APR 80.9/+4.2 47.7/+0.4 64.3 62.4 +1.9
MAY 86.9/+3.0 61.4/+4.2 74.2 70.5 +3.7
JUN 95.9/+6.3 69.6/+4.2 82.8 77.5 +5.3
JUL 95.8/+3.8 71.5/+1.9 83.6 80.8 +2.8
AUG 92.4/+2.2 72.2/+4.3 82.3 79.3 +3.0
SEP 91.5/+6.2 61.9/-0.5 76.7 73.8 +2.9
OCT 81.1/+4.6 47.3/-2.3 64.2 63.1 +1.1
NOV 70.1/+2.3 39.7/-1.2 54.9 54.4 +0.5
DEC 52.9/-6.2 26.0/-8.7 39.4 46.9 -7.5
ANNUAL 76.8/+1.1 49.7/-1.0 63.2 63.2 0.0
JAN 2011 54.1/-2.4 29.2/-3.9 41.7 44.8 -3.1
FEB 65.9/+4.6 36.9/+1.4 51.4 48.4 +3.0
MAR 71.4/+2.2 43.9/+1.4 57.6 55.9 +1.7
APR 82.6/+5.9 51.6/+3.5 67.1 62.4 +4.7
MAY 86.7/+2.8 57.7/+0.5 72.2 70.5 +1.7
JUN 96.2/+6.6 67.9/+2.5 82.0 77.5 +4.5
JUL 97.3/+3.9 71.8/+2.0 84.6 81.6 +3.0
AUG 97.7/+5.9 71.0/+1.7 84.4 80.5 +3.9
SEP 88.8/+2.1 62.7/+0.1 75.7 74.6 +1.1
OCT 75.4/-2.3 46.4/-4.6 60.9 64.4 -3.5
NOV 70.6/+1.5 39.9/-1.5 55.3 55.2 -0.1
DEC 64.7/+4.7 36.8/+2.3 50.7 47.2 +3.5
ANNUAL 79.3/+2.4 51.3/+0.3 65.3 63.9 +1.4
PRECIPITATION...
COLUMBIA METRO AIRPORT PRECIPITATION...
TOTAL NORMAL DIFFERENCE
(INCHES)
JANUARY 2010 3.18 4.66 -1.48
FEBRUARY 2.88 3.84 -0.96
MARCH 2.34 4.59 -2.25
APRIL 0.91 2.98 -2.07
MAY 2.10 3.17 -1.07
JUNE 4.20 4.99 -0.79
JULY 7.70 5.54 +2.16
AUGUST 5.56 5.41 +0.15
SEPTEMBER 1.94 3.94 -2.00
OCTOBER 1.83 2.89 -1.06
NOVEMBER 1.46 2.88 -1.42
DECEMBER 1.40 3.38 -1.98
ANNUAL 35.50 48.27 -12.77
JANUARY 2011 1.70 4.66 -2.96
FEBRUARY 4.21 3.84 +0.37
MARCH 4.00 4.59 -0.59
APRIL 2.76 2.98 -0.22
MAY 2.74 3.17 -0.43
JUNE 2.87 4.99 -2.12
JULY 6.17 5.46 +0.71
AUGUST 4.01 5.26 -1.25
SEPTEMBER 3.36 3.54 -0.18
OCTOBER 2.01 3.17 -1.16
NOVEMBER 1.68 2.74 -1.06
DECEMBER 1.11 3.22 -2.11
ANNUAL 36.62 44.59 -7.97
AUGUSTA BUSH FIELD PRECIPITATION...
TOTAL NORMAL DIFFERENCE
(INCHES)
JANUARY 2010 5.39 4.50 +0.89
FEBRUARY 2.37 4.11 -1.74
MARCH 3.20 4.61 -1.41
APRIL 1.20 2.94 -1.74
MAY 1.36 3.07 -1.71
JUNE 2.19 4.19 -2.00
JULY 5.86 4.07 +1.79
AUGUST 2.04 4.48 -2.44
SEPTEMBER 1.89 3.59 -1.70
OCTOBER 0.67 3.20 -2.53
NOVEMBER 1.30 2.68 -1.38
DECEMBER 1.17 3.14 -1.97
ANNUAL 28.61 44.58 -15.97
JANUARY 2011 2.11 4.50 -2.39
FEBRUARY 4.31 4.11 +0.20
MARCH 5.45 4.61 +0.84
APRIL 1.93 2.94 -1.01
MAY 2.50 3.07 -0.57
JUNE 1.98 4.19 -2.21
JULY 4.05 4.33 -0.28
AUGUST 1.19 4.32 -3.13
SEPTEMBER 1.56 3.22 -1.66
OCTOBER 1.47 3.27 -1.80
NOVEMBER 1.63 2.82 -1.19
DECEMBER 1.28 3.39 -2.11
ANNUAL 29.43 43.57 -14.14
.NOTE...
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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www.nws.noaa.gov 
