Flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in the Lowcountry (WCIV)CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- Brrr…the year started out on a cold note!
Temperatures weren't quite as cold as December, but when you combine the temperatures from December 2010 and January 2011 it was the second coldest two month period of December and January on record.
That cold air combined with moisture on January 10th and we had snow and ice. We didn't get much though, only a tenth of an inch in Beaufort, Charleston, Dorchester and Colleton counties.
On April 16, a tornado touched down in St. Stephen in Berkeley County. A waterspout developed over northern Lake Moultrie, traveled 2 miles before coming onshore, and then developed into a tornado and dissipated about 1 mile southeast of St. Stephen. This strong EF1 tornado had estimated winds between 105 and 110 mph. The damage, which was mainly along Highway 52, included a destroyed barn, destroyed mobile home, two mobile homes lifted off their foundations and a roof lifted off a church.
As we headed through the spring and into the summer, the mercury continued to rise. April was the second warmest April on record at the Charleston Airport. June was then second warmest June on record. July and August were hot too, so it was the warmest summer on record with an average temperature of 83.4. No wonder we had to use the air conditioning so much!
Hurricane Irene looked like it was heading this way in late August. Fortunately, the storm didn't make a direct hit and we were only impacted by the western edge of the storm. The Lowcountry only got a little bit of rain and some wind, but Folly Beach suffered severe erosion.
The drought only got worse in the fall and early winter. With only 37.01 inches of rain in the rain bucket, 2011 will go down in the record books as the six driest year in Charleston.
