General:
South-Carolina extends about 200 miles
on the sea coast, and about 300 to the west. The southern boundary
and a great part of the northern, runs north-west from the Atlantic
ocean. As the air grows colder in a western as well as a northern
direction, the climate is far from being uniform.
3 Weather Patterns in the State
The western districts, from their high
and dry situation and contiguity to the mountains; enjoy a dry,
elastic, wholesome atmosphere. The middle country par takes of the
advantages of the upper country, and the disadvantages of the lower.
The latter being intersected by swamps, bays, and low grounds, the
waters spread over the face of the country, and in consequence of
heat and stagnation produce mephitic exhalations.
Lowland Fog
Thick fogs cover the low lands
throughout the night during the summer months. In the western
districts from August until frost, thick fogs also cover the grounds
at night, but are dissipated by the rays of the sun. Much exposure to
these fogs early in the morning is said to occasion intermittents.
Since 1791 the difference between our
coolest and warmest summers has ranged between 88 and 93, and the
difference between our mildest and coldest winters has ranged on a
few particular days from 50 to 17.
Our greatest heat is sometimes less and
never much more than what takes place in the same season in
Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New- York, but the warm weather in these
places does not on an average continue above six weeks, while in
Carolina it lasts from three to four months. Our nights are also
warmer than theirs.
The heat of the days in Charlestown is
moderated by two causes, which do not exist in an equal degree to the
northward of it. Our situation, open and near the sea, almost
surrounded by water and not far distant from the torrid zone, gives
us a small proportion of the trade winds which, blowing from the
south-east, are pleasantly cool. These generally set in about 1 0 A.
M. and continue for the remainder of the day.
A second reason may be assigned from
the almost daily showers of rain which fall in the hottest of our
summer months, and are frequently accompanied with much thunder and
lightning, and therefore are called thunder showers.
The interior of SC, not getting the
benefit of the coastal winds, tends to run 8 to 10 degrees hotter
than Charleston.
The number of extreme warm days in
Charlestown is seldom above thirty in a year ; and it is rare for
three of these to follow each other. On the other hand, eight months
out of twelve are moderate and pleasant.
The number of piercing cold days in
winter is more in proportion to our latitude than of those which are
distressingly hot in summer : but of these more than three rarely
come together.
There are on an average in Charlestown
about twenty nights, in a twelvemonth, in which the closeness and
sultriness of the air forbid in a great measure the" refreshment
of sound sleep ; but this severe weather is for the most part soon
terminated by refreshing and cooling showers.
April, May, and June are in common our
healthiest months, with the exception of the cholera infantum and
bowel diseases among children. August and September are the most
sick ly ;
April and May the driest ; June, July,
and Au gust the wettest ; November the pleasantest.
Our old people are oftenest carried off
in cold weather ; the young, the intemperate, and the laboring part
of the community, when it is hot.
In some years Jan uary, and in others
February is the coldest month. It is remarkable that when orange
trees have been destroyed by frost, it has always been in the month
of February. It is also remarkable that oranges, though plentiful
forty or fifty years ago, are now raised with difficulty. Once in
every eight or ten years a severe winter destroys the trees on which
they grow. Of this kind were the winters of 1766, ,1779, 1786, and
1796.
In winter the mountains near the
western boun dary of the state are often covered with snow. From
thence to the sea shore snow but seldom falls so as to cover the
ground except on extraordinary occasions. The soil is sometimes in
like manner bound up with frost. This seldom extends into the ground
more than two inches. In shady places it will not thaw for several
days ; and the waters and ponds at the same time are generally
frozen, but seldom more than half an inch thick, and rarely strong
enough to give an opportunity for the w holesome exercise of
skaitingi
This
freezing lasts only for a few days, and the weather breaks up mild
and warm so as to render fires unnecessary in the middle of the day.
In the winter these changes from heat to cold, and the reverse, fre
quently and suddenly take place, and affect the feelings of the
inhabitants much more than equal, or even greater degrees of
permanent cold in countries where the climate is more steady, and the
transitions from heat to cold are more gradual.
In February the weather is particularly
variable. It is often rainy. Vegetation commences in warm clear days
and inspires hopes of an early spring. Suddenly a north-west wind
inducing frost, some times blasts and always retards these flattering
expectations.
Planting Season
In March and April the planting sea son
begins and continues till June.
Rains
In July and August the heats increase,
and the heavy rains set in attended at times with severe thunder and
lightning.
Harvest
September is the principal month of
harvest. In it the evenings and mor nings are chilly, but the sun is
extremely oppressive in the middle of the day. Storms of rain are
produced accompanied sometimes with hurricanes.
Change of Season
In Sept., the leaves of deciduous trees
begin to fall, and na ture by degrees assumes the sober dress of
winter. In October the weather is generally mild and clear. About the
middle of this month frosts commence and generally terminate in the
month of March. On their approach they bring with them a cure for the
fevers, then usually prevalent.
Fires In The Charleston Fireplaces
The inhabitants of Charlestown keep
fires in their houses from four to six months in the year ; but there
are some warm days in every one of them in which fires are
disagreeable. On the other hand there are some moist cool days in
every month of the year, with the exception of July and August, in
which fires are not only healthy but pleasant. These, with the
addition of June, are the only months which are exempt from frost in
all years and in every part of South-Carolina.
Sharp cold weather seldom commences
before December, though there are several cold days in November, and
the evenings and mornings are generally so. In these two months,
especially the last, vegetation is checked and continues so for about
four weeks. In this manner the annual circle revolves in the varying
climate of South-Carolina. The last half of December and the first
half of January is the dullest period of the whole. If the year was
to be regulated with a particular reference to Caro lina, it might be
said to commence about the middle of January, and to terminate about
the middle of December ; for the one begins and the other ends its
visible natural vegetation.
1802-Charleston
Month Days of Rain Inches
January 2 0.4
February 4 0.8
March 3 0.8
April 3 3
May 7 3
June 7 3.4
July 14 12.1
August, 10 4,9
September 5 5.8
October, 3 0.3
November, 1 3,4
December, 6 3.3
Wind Direction
Month S. to NW N to SE
January 17 14
February 15 13
March 20 11
April 22 8
May 26 5
June 18 12
July 21 10
August, 16 15
September 18 12
October, 8 23
November, 14 16
December, 17 11
South to NW winds are the tale end of
the Trade Winds and moderate the weather. Winds from the North to SE
are coming across land and are hotter in the summer, colder in the
winter?
From Ramsay: The east and north-east
winds in winter and spring are very injurious to invalids, especially
to those who have weak lungs or who are troubled with rheu matic
complaints. In these seasons they bring with them that languor for
which they are remarkable in other countries ; but in summer, by
moderating heat they are both pleasant and wholesome. Their worst
effects are to produce catarrhal complaints and colds. Winds from the
north-west to the south west, blowing over large tracts of marsh or
swamp, are in summer season unfriendly to health. The north and
north-west winds in winter, are remarkable for their invigorating
effects on the human frame. South winds are healthy in summer, but
much less so in winter.
Snow is more common and continues
longer in proportion as we recede from the sea shore. The further we
proceed westward till we reach the mountains which divide the western
from the eastern waters, the weather is colder in the winter and ve
getation later in the spring. In the western parts of the state the
days are warmer and the nights are cooler than on the sea coast.
While the inhabitants of Charlestown can scarcely bear to be covered
in the hours of sleep with a sheet, they who live in the town of
Columbia, one hundred and twenty computed miles, but probably about
one hundred in a straight line, to the north-west of it, are not
incommoded by a blanket : and this difference is greater as we
advance more to the west.
The latest frost in the spring of 1802
was March the 15th ; the earliest in autumn was October 26th or
rather November.l st. The coldest day was February 23d. Thermometer
32. The next coldest day was December 9th, thermometer 33.
The greatest and least average degrees of heat
in each month was as fol lows': Greatest. Least.
January 74 45
February, 69 32
March, 74 44
April, 86 61
May, 84 66
June, 86 73
July, 87 70
August, 89 72
September, 89 60
October, 81 54
November, 74 49
December, 70 33
The medium temperature of the well
water in Charlestown is 65'. This is twelve degrees above that of the
well-water of Philadelphia.
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