Clarendon County could see its first freeze of the fall Saturday night, and the cold air is arriving without the rain the county's fields and pastures need.
The National Weather Service office in Columbia on Friday, Nov. 13, put Clarendon and much of central South Carolina under a frost advisory from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday, with lows as cold as 34 degrees. A freeze watch follows from late Saturday night through 9 a.m. Sunday, when temperatures could drop to around 30.
The Weather Service warned that frost and freezing temperatures could kill crops and other sensitive plants and could damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. Friday's forecast for the Manning area called for widespread frost Saturday night and a low near 32, with another night in the low 30s Sunday.
The cold comes on top of a dry fall. The U.S. Drought Monitor map released this week, reflecting conditions as of Tuesday, Nov. 10, shows all of Clarendon County in at least moderate drought and about 70% of the county in severe drought. For the first time this fall, a small corner of the county, less than 1%, is now classified as extreme drought. The week before, none of the county was in that category.
No meaningful rain is in the near-term forecast. The Weather Service's Manning forecast puts the chance of rain at 4% or less every day through Thursday, with highs climbing back near 70 degrees by midweek.
Residents can protect tender plants by covering them or bringing potted plants indoors before dark Saturday, wrapping or draining exposed outdoor pipes and faucets, and making sure pets and livestock have shelter and unfrozen water.