South Carolina’s rain barrel, dangerously empty two weeks ago, will end the month with at least some water in it.
The recent rains only put a dent in long-term drought conditions, but the central Midlands has received more than two inches of rain since Feb. 15. A thin band from Edgefield to Cheraw got 1.5 inches on Friday alone.
At official National Weather Service airport gauges, Columbia received 2.4 inches from Feb. 15-27, with more light rain expected Wednesday and this weekend. Yet Columbia likely will end the December-February period four to five inches below normal in rainfall.
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Dec. 1-Feb. 26 of 2011-2012 ranks as the 10th driest such period in 125 years of Columbia record-keeping. The same period is sixth driest in Charleston history and 21st driest in Greenville-Spartanburg history, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center.
Nearly four out of every five rivers and streams in the state are flowing at 10 percent or less of their normal volume. Large lakes in the Catawba-Wateree system are near their expected winter levels, but the Savannah River lakes are several feet below normal, and Lake Jocassee in the mountains is 20 feet below normal.
That means if the long-term predictions of a drier than normal spring are accurate, the state could sink into an extreme drought as the heat rises in the summer months. If so, the rains of late February will only slow the process slightly.
But there are some indications that the La Nina, caused by cooler than normal sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, is weakening. La Nina impacts weather patterns throughout the globe, typically keeping South Carolina very dry. State climatologist Hope Mizzell said it’s encouraging that the storm tracks for the past two weeks finally have moved far enough south to bring moisture to the state.
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