Charleston Downtown, SC

South Carolina · Records since 1893–2026

☁️ 83°F
Currently in Charleston Downtown
As of 1:45 PM EDT

Records for September 7

🔥 Record High

97°F

September 7, 1921

+13° from 84° normal

❄ Record Low

63°F

September 7, 1988

-11° from 74° normal
🌞 Normal high: 84°F 🌑 Normal low: 74°F 1991–2020 normals

All-Time Records — Charleston Downtown

🔥
104°F
Hottest Day Ever
Jun 2, 1985
❄
7°F
Coldest Day Ever
Feb 14, 1899
🌧
10.38"
Wettest Day Ever
Jun 11, 1973
☃
3.2"
Most Snow in One Day
Feb 13, 1899

Top 10 Record Highs — September 7

# Temp Date
🏆 97°F September 7, 1921
2 95°F September 7, 1910
3 95°F September 7, 1899
4 94°F September 7, 1985
5 93°F September 7, 1983
6 93°F September 7, 1944
7 93°F September 7, 1925
8 93°F September 7, 1923
9 92°F September 7, 1947
10 92°F September 7, 1943

Top 5 Record Lows — September 7

# Temp Date
🥶 63°F September 7, 1988
2 64°F September 7, 1965
3 65°F September 7, 1972
4 65°F September 7, 1962
5 66°F September 7, 1924
About this data — Records are sourced from the NOAA Threadex dataset via RCC ACIS, a quality-controlled record for long-term climate stations. Threadex adjusts for station relocations and observation-time changes, making records comparable across all years since 1893–2026. Climate normals represent the 1991–2020 average.

Heat Wave Summary — Charleston Downtown

threshold: 93°F (90th percentile of historical Jun–Aug highs)
3.9
Avg heat wave length
days (historical)
97°
Avg peak temp
during heat waves
111
Dangerous nights 2026
Overnights ≥ 70°F
2
Heat waves 2026
so far

2026 Daily High Temperature vs Normal

Year to date
Above normal Below normal

139 of 249 days with data were above the 1991–2020 normal high for their date.

Days ≥ 90°F Per Year

1893–2026
38
2026 so far
30
Avg/year 1970–2025
24
Avg/year (last 10 complete)
71
Most in a year (1998)

Average Daily High by Decade

Full year · complete decades only

Longest Heat Waves — Charleston Downtown

# Dates Days Peak Avg High Avg Overnight Low
🏆 Jul 20, 1999 – Aug 2, 1999 14 103°F (Aug 1) 96°F 82°F
2 Jun 23, 1952 – Jun 30, 1952 8 103°F (Jun 26) 98°F 80°F
3 Sep 1, 1944 – Sep 7, 1944 7 100°F (Sep 4) 96°F 76°F
4 Jun 21, 1950 – Jun 27, 1950 7 99°F (Jun 24) 97°F 79°F
5 Jun 25, 1977 – Jul 1, 1977 7 99°F (Jun 28) 96°F 76°F
6 Jul 6, 1977 – Jul 12, 1977 7 99°F (Jul 9) 97°F 80°F
7 Jul 29, 1970 – Aug 4, 1970 7 98°F (Aug 1) 95°F 78°F
8 Aug 20, 1968 – Aug 26, 1968 7 97°F (Aug 24) 94°F 80°F
9 Aug 4, 1984 – Aug 10, 1984 7 96°F (Aug 7) 94°F 77°F
10 Jun 26, 1902 – Jul 1, 1902 6 101°F (Jul 1) 97°F 79°F

Heat Waves Per Year

Warm Summer Nights (Jun–Aug)

Nights where the overnight low exceeded the 1991–2020 normal low

64
2026 total
above-normal nights
37.6
Avg / summer
1970–2020
78
Most in a summer
1998

Above-Normal Summer Nights Per Year

Average June–August Low by Decade

Overnight lows · complete decades only

Precipitation

Actual vs. 1991–2020 full-month and full-season normals

18.15"
2026 YTD
Normal: 30.89"
-12.74"
0.00"
September so far
September normal: 5.25"
-5.25"
4
2026 heavy rain days
Days with ≥ 1.0"

2026 Accumulation vs. Normal

Running total since Jan 1 against the normal pace for the same date · Charleston Downtown is 12.74" behind the normal pace

Monthly Precipitation — Last 24 Months

Blue = actual · dashed line = monthly normal

Annual Precipitation Per Year (1893–2026)

Blue = above average · tan = below average · gold = 2026 (partial)
Since 1893, annual totals have trended +0.18" per decade, about +2.3" across the record.

Heavy Rain Days Per Year (≥ 1.0")

Compare year-to-year changes in days with heavy rainfall (≥ 1.0")

Month in Review — August 2026

83.7°F

Average temperature · August 2026

23rd-warmest month on record

6th-warmest August of 132 on record

+2.0° vs. 81.7° average (1991–2020)
86.0°F
Warmest month ever
July 1998
84.6°F
Warmest August ever
2021
15
Days ≥ 90°F
in August
97°F
Hottest of 2026
Aug 17

Longest 90°F Streak in August

15 consecutive days with highs of at least 90°F (Aug 10–24, 2026, peaking at 97°F)

The longest August streak since 1980 (46 years). The August record is 16 days, set in 1980.

Average August Temperature by Year

1893–2026 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.08° per decade (warming since 1893)

Precipitation — August 2026

Month total against the 1991–2020 average and every other August on record

4.76"
Total precipitation
August 2026
-1.41"
vs. average
Normal: 6.17" · 77% of normal
47th-driest
August rank
of 130 on record
16.71"
Wettest August ever
1940 · driest 0.18" (1954)

August Precipitation by Year

1893–2026 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.06" per decade (wetter since 1893)

Wettest Augusts on Record

# Year Total
1 1940 16.71"
2 1971 16.37"
3 2025 15.78"
4 1893 15.53"
5 1992 14.19"
6 1969 13.90"
7 1986 13.90"
8 2004 13.49"
9 1941 12.77"
10 2015 12.45"

Driest Augusts on Record

# Year Total
1 1954 0.18"
2 1900 0.40"
3 1980 0.60"
4 1943 1.35"
5 1998 1.51"
6 1979 1.51"
7 1925 1.62"
8 1930 1.75"
9 1997 1.98"
10 1926 2.38"

Warmest Augusts on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 2021 84.6°F
2 1999 84.3°F
3 1900 84.2°F
4 1998 84.2°F
5 1954 84.1°F
6 2026 83.7°F
7 2016 83.5°F
8 2007 83.5°F
9 2023 83.5°F
10 1926 83.3°F

Warmest Months on Record (Any Month)

# Month Avg Temp
1 July 1998 86.0°F
2 June 1998 85.5°F
3 July 2016 85.0°F
4 July 1977 84.9°F
5 July 1986 84.8°F
6 July 1993 84.7°F
7 July 2026 84.7°F
8 August 2021 84.6°F
9 August 1999 84.3°F
10 August 1900 84.2°F

Nearby Stations — August 2026

How the same month ranked at the closest reporting stations

Station Avg Temp August Rank
Charleston Downtown, SC 83.7°F 6th of 132
Charleston, SC 83.6°F 4th of 90
Savannah, GA 84.2°F 7th of 152
Myrtle Beach, SC 81.3°F 5th of 67
Columbia, SC 83.3°F 7th of 140
About this data. Monthly averages are the mean of daily average temperatures, computed from NOAA Threadex records via RCC ACIS. Months missing more than three days of observations are excluded from the rankings, so the in-progress month never appears. Rankings cover 1,588 complete months on record. Precipitation totals sum the daily reports for the month, with trace amounts counted as zero. A month missing any day of precipitation data is left out entirely (an unreported day is unreported rain), so the precipitation ranking covers 130 complete Augusts. Normals are the 1991–2020 mean for the same calendar month. Trend lines are a least-squares fit across every year shown.

Fall in Review — Fall 2026

September 1 – November 30, 2026

Fall 2026 is still under way. Season totals and rankings appear once November closes; the markers below update as they happen.

Summer to Winter — 2026

Each turning point of the season against its 1991–2020 normal date, with the earliest and latest on record

Marker 2026 Normal vs. normal Earliest Latest Drift
Last 90°F day
The final day of summer heat
 Sep 5
so far
 Sep 7 Jul 10, 2003 Oct 19, 1926 -0.8 d/decade
Last 80°F day
The last genuinely warm afternoon
 Sep 6
so far
 Nov 2 Oct 1, 1957 Dec 22, 1998 +0.4 d/decade
First high below 50°F
The first afternoon that stays cold
 not yet Dec 5 Oct 21, 1952 Dec 30, 1933 +0.3 d/decade
First 32°F freeze
Growing season over
 not yet — Nov 3, 1954 Dec 29, 1904 +0.6 d/decade
First 28°F hard freeze
Cold enough to end tender growth
 not yet — Nov 3, 1954 Dec 30, 1899 +0.4 d/decade

Drift is a least-squares fit across every year on record. Positive means the marker has been arriving later.

First Freeze by Year

The first 32°F night of each autumn since 1894 · trending +0.6 days later per decade

353
Longest on record
1999
243
Shortest on record
1914

Growing Season Length by Year

Days between the last spring freeze and the first fall freeze · trending +2.2 days longer per decade

Fall Average Temperature by Year

1896–2025 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.14° per decade (warming since 1896)

Fall Precipitation by Year

1893–2025 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.16" per decade (wetter since 1893)

About this data. Fall is meteorological autumn, September 1 through November 30, the window NOAA uses for seasonal statistics. Seasonal temperature is the day-weighted mean of the three monthly means; precipitation is their sum, and a season missing any of the three months is left out of the rankings. Freeze, heat and snow markers come from daily NOAA Threadex observations via RCC ACIS: freezes and snow are the first occurrence on or after July 1, and the last 90°F and 80°F days are the final ones anywhere in the calendar year. Growing season counts the freeze-free days between the last spring 32°F and the first fall 32°F.
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