PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
715 AM EDT WED SEP 1 1999

...AUGUST 1999 SECOND WARMEST AND SECOND DRIEST AUGUST ON RECORD AT 
GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG...

AUGUST 1999 WILL LONG BE REMEMBERED AS AN EXTRAORDINARILY HOT AND
DRY MONTH IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. THANKS TO THE COMPLETION OF A 
33-DAY STRING OF 90 DEGREE DAYS AND A LACK OF ORGANIZED RAINFALL 
SYSTEMS...AUGUST 1999 FINISHED AS THE SECOND WARMEST AND SECOND
DRIEST AUGUST ON RECORD.

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AT GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG IN AUGUST WAS
81.5 DEGREES...4.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. A DRAMATIC COOLDOWN DURING
THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH ALLOWED THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
TO SLIDE BELOW THE RECORD OF 81.6 DEGREES SET IN 1954.

AS THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA ENTERED A MODERATE DROUGHT...AND
THE ANNUAL RAINFALL DEFICIT SURPASSED ONE FOOT AT 
GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG...WIDESPREAD RAINFALL ACROSS THE UPSTATE
WAS ALMOST NON-EXISTENT. VERY LITTLE RAIN FELL DURING THE FIRST HALF
OF THE MONTH...AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DURING THE LATTER HALF WAS 
ONLY SCATTERED IN NATURE. THE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION AT 
GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG WAS 0.79 INCHES...JUST NARROWLY MISSING THE 
PREVIOUS AUGUST LOW OF 0.78 INCHES IN 1925. SOME AREAS OF THE
UPSTATE RECEIVED MORE RAIN THAN THAT OBSERVED AT THE AIRPORT...BUT 
THERE WERE ALSO MANY AREAS THAT RECEIVED LESS.

AT THE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG AIRPORT...THERE WERE ONLY FIVE DAYS
IN AUGUST 1999 WHEN MEASUREABLE RAIN WAS OBSERVED. THUNDERSTORMS
ON THE 23RD AND 24TH ACCOUNTED FOR 0.61 OF THE 0.79 INCHES OF RAIN 
OBSERVED DURING THE MONTH.

THE FOLLOWING IS THE UPDATED RAINFALL DEFICIT FOR THE 14-MONTH
PERIOD JULY 1998 THROUGH AUGUST 1999.

MONTH      ASHEVILLE REG ARPT   CHARLOTTE/DOUGLAS    GSP INTL

JUL            -2.55              -0.27              -1.36
AUG            -2.46              -0.91              -1.68
SEP            -2.25              +0.29              +0.35
OCT            -1.80              -1.98              -1.22
NOV            -0.83              -0.95              -1.26
DEC            -0.48              -0.20              +0.10
JAN            +3.13              +0.16              -0.26
FEB            -0.62              -1.52              -1.57
MAR            -1.81              -3.12              -3.06
APR            -0.92              +1.44              +0.09
MAY            -1.90              -2.32              -3.05
JUN            +0.16              +0.63              -0.10
JUL            -0.67              -0.53              -2.68
AUG            -1.32              -2.31              -3.16

TOTAL         -14.32             -11.59             -18.86
DEPARTURE

NORMAL FOR     56.80              50.74              59.85
THE 14 MONTH
PERIOD SINCE
DRY SPELL BEGAN

JONES/BURRUS