COLUMBIA, S.C. — September 1st marks the first day of meteorological Fall. While astronomical Fall does not start until September 22nd, meteorologists define the season as September 1st through November 30th. There are a few things you need to know about what to expect during this month of transition in South Carolina.
The first thing to know is that our temperatures will start to drop, but not too quickly.
The average high on September 1st in Columbia is 89 degrees. By the end of the month our average high drops about 10 degrees and goes down to 81 degrees.
Of course, this is just our average temperature. Over the past few years, September and October have both run above normal, with even some 100 degree days in October. But overall, temperatures are trending in the right direction as we get closer to the holidays.
The other thing to note about the month of September is that it is typically the busiest month of hurricane season. Climatologically, the peak of hurricane season is September 10th.
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Over the course of September, the places that we typically see tropical development include the main development region of the Atlantic Ocean, in parts of the Caribbean Sea, and just off the Southeast coast.
This hurricane season has broken records already this year, so it is likely that we will see more systems over the next few months given the current forecast and the climatology of the season.
Just because it is forecast to continue to be an active season, does not mean that there is a guarantee that more storms will make landfall. It is always a good idea to prepare for hurricane season while the weather is quiet. One way to do that is to have an emergency storm kit ready to go for hurricane season or during severe weather events. In the kit should be flashlights, batteries, cash, non-perishable food, water, and anything else you may need in an emergency.