COLUMBIA, S.C. — The new year is a time of reflection, so what better day to look back in history than New Year's Eve? We compiled all the weather on New Year's Eve day in Columbia since 1900 to find the hottest, coldest, wettest, and - yes - snowiest in history.
The Hottest
New Years Eve 1983 reached a balmy 81 degrees which is more than 20 degrees above average. We've reached temperatures in the 70s 13 times since 1900 on December 31st in Columbia, and it's above 50 degrees about 3/4 of days.
The coldest (and snowiest)
The coldest New Years Eve was in 1917. The low temperature was only 12 degrees and the afternoon high was 21 degrees which is more than 30 degrees below average. About an inch of snow was recorded in Columbia (it was truly a white start to the New Year!). This was the only measurable snow event on December 31st since 1900, but there was an ever bigger snow in 1894 in Columbia which brought 5 inches of snow. There are no other measurable snowfalls on record.
The Rainiest
December 31, 1981 was the rainiest New Years Eve on record in Columbia. 2.50" of rain was reported at the Columbia Airport. It rained about 40% of the days since 1900.