What’s the wettest place in our state?

The Wallhalla Fish Hatchery at Jocassee in far northwest South Carolina.

If it seemed like you were pulling out your umbrella too often in the 2018 holiday season, you were correct. Preliminary data indicates December was the second wettest of the 124-year record.

It had a statewide average rainfall of 7.67 inches. That’s almost double the normal rainfall of 3.56 inches for December.

According to Melissa Griffin, assistant state climatologist, the rainfall during December was so extreme it pushed the annual rainfall total at Jocassee to a level never recorded in South Carolina.

The State Climate Extremes Committee has unanimously voted to accept the 2018 rainfall total of 123.45” from the National Weather Service Station, known as Jocassee 8, as the new official state annual rainfall record. This surpasses the previous official record of 119.16 inches measured at Hogback Mountain in 1979.

A final report is available on the NCEI SCEC website at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-content/extremes/scec/reports/20190405-South-Carolina-Annual-Rainfall.pdf .

A complete list of the current state records can also be found on the NOAA website.