Holiday rainfall sets record at Jocassee weather station

If it seemed you pulled out the raincoat and umbrella way too often during the holidays, you are correct. Preliminary data for South Carolina show December the second wettest month in records covering 124 years. The South Carolina average rainfall of 7.67 inches was almost double the normal rainfall for the month. Melissa Griffin, assistant state climatologist, says the rainfall was so extreme that it pushed the annual total at Jocassee to a level never recorded in South Carolina. The Jocassee weather station, located at the Walhalla Fish Hatchery, received a soaking 17.25 inches. That pushed the annual measurement to a record-setting 123.45 inches. The heavy rains created challenges for the fish hatchery employees. But they say they prefer adequate rain instead of drought because it’s much easier to keep fish alive and healthy. The Jocassee station is one of more than 8,000 National Weather Service Cooperative Weather stations that provide daily observations of temperature and precipitation across the United States.