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Shaded-relief map of Cheraw, South Carolina: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
SOUTH CAROLINA · CHESTERFIELD COUNTY

Cheraw

4,946 people, 160 ft above sea level in Chesterfield County.

160 ftElevation, city center
4,946People, 2024 estimate
6 sq miLand area
Clear 46°
Clear now Dew point 28° · Calm · high 43°
City of Cheraw River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Cheraw plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Cheraw

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 6:00 PM EST
RIGHT NOW Cheraw Municipal Lynch Bellinger Field (KCQW) · 6:35 PM
Clear
46° Clear Feels like 46° · high of 43° near 6 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity49%rising to 92% by morning
Pressure30.13 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 28° · Dry40° by Sunday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 120.01 in · 2 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
! Freeze WarningFreeze Warning issued November 14 at 1:24PM EST until November 15 at 9:00AM EST by NWS Columbia SC
NWS Columbia and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 6:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:52 AM5:15 PM ↓
10 h 23 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
10
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
43°
33°
57°
35°
59°
34°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
3
5
3
3
3
8
8
7
0
0
3
5
5
6
6
3
0
0
0
0
1
6
6
5
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 30 to 40°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 66° / 40°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
43° 33°
0% rain — NNW 4 A
SUN Nov. 15 Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
57° 34°
0% rain — N 7 A
MON Nov. 16 Sunny Sunny
59° 33°
0% rain — NE 5 A
TUE Nov. 17 Sunny Sunny
63° 34°
0% rain — NE 5 B
WED Nov. 18 Sunny Sunny
65° 35°
0% rain — NE 5 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
69° 38°
0% rain — NNE 5 B
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
70° 40°
0% rain — NNE 5 B
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Cheraw about 5,000 feet above the ground was over Texas three days ago, and over the Ohio Valley a day ago, about 1,610 miles back along its path. Near the ground the air came from Georgia; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific off the Northwest. It feels humid. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 2009 Nov. 11–12, 2009

The wettest two days this week has seen

3.38 inches of rain fell in two days, the most for this week of the year since records began in 1893. The next wettest, 3.23 inches, fell in 2018.

3.23″
3.38″
20182009
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Cheraw record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Cheraw stands on

Cheraw’s center stands about 160 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 80 ft to 210 ft, a difference of 130 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Brandywine Formation (gravel, sand), from the Miocene, 5.3 to 23 million years old.

The section below crosses 8 rock units mapped at the surface.

Cheraw, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
100 ft200 ft300 ft CHERAW160 ftHigh point of the line390 ftLow point60 ftGreat Pee Dee Riverabout 110 ft ← NWSE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 59×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Alluvial Valley Swamp

Sand, gravel. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Cape Fear/Eutaw Formations

Sand, gravel. Age: Cretaceous, 66 to 145 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Penholoway Formation

Sand, clay. Age: Quaternary, less than 2.6 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Flat Swamp Formation (AKA Flat Swamp Member of Cid Formation)

Metarhyolite. Age: Neoproterozoic to Ordovician, 445 to 1,000 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Bear Bluff Formation

Sand, limestone. Age: Tertiary, 2.6 to 66 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Middendorf Formation

Sand. Age: Cretaceous, 66 to 145 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale. 2 smaller units along the line are not listed.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Cheraw’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Cheraw reaches the Atlantic Ocean by way of Huckleberry Branch, the Great Pee Dee, Schooner Creek and the Waccamaw: about 170 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Cheraw≈ 170 mi · the Atlantic Ocean
FROM THE CENTER OF CHERAW ≈ 170 mi to the Atlantic Ocean Huckleberry Branch → Great Pee Dee → Schooner Creek → Waccamaw

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Cheraw; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Cheraw’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Cheraw

Cheraw has a humid subtropical climate. Summer afternoons average 91° in July; winter nights fall to about 31° in January. About 49 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

54°31°58°34°65°40°74°49°81°58°88°67°91°71°89°69°83°63°74°51°65°40°57°34° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY CHERAW 48.6 in rain a year
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average91° / 71°high / low, the warmest month
January, average54° / 31°high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year48.6 inwettest months: September and July
Snow a year0.1 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record108°FJuly 23, 1952
Coldest on record−9°FFebruary 14, 1899
Wettest day on record10.8 inSeptember 16, 2018
Snowiest day on record16.0 inFebruary 26, 1914
90° days a year53about 2 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°66and 1 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHumid subtropicalKöppen Cfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Nov. 3, to the last in spring, about March 24 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and upJune 25 to Aug. 7; normal highs reach 90°
3Lows below freezingDec. 29 to Feb. 6; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Cheraw normally reaches 65° and falls to 40°. The record high is 83°, in 1964; the record low 20°, in 1977. The most rain on this date, 2.00 in, fell in 1940.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high54°58°65°74°81°88°91°89°83°74°65°57°
Normal low31°34°40°49°58°67°71°69°63°51°40°34°
Rain, inches3.513.063.763.313.664.795.185.095.353.903.273.74
Record high80° (1952)86° (1930)93° (1907)95° (1963)103° (1941)106° (1981)108° (1952)106° (2007)107° (1925)102° (1954)90° (1961)81° (1998)
Record low0° (1985)−9° (1899)9° (1980)23° (1964)31° (1918)44° (1966)50° (2001)49° (1965)40° (1967)23° (1976)11° (1950)4° (1935)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Cheraw, here. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Cheraw on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Laurinburg NC · 25 MI 25 miles east Florence SC · 37 MI 37 miles south Charlotte NC · 63 MI 63 miles northwest Greensboro NC · 97 MI 97 miles north Durham NC · 105 MI 105 miles northeast Raleigh NC · 106 MI 106 miles northeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Cheraw, South Carolina. Explore the plate
SOUTH CAROLINA · CHESTERFIELD

Cheraw

4,946 people, 160 ft above sea level in Chesterfield County.

160 ftElevation
4,946People
6 sq miLand
Clear 46°
ClearDew point 28°
1

Today in Cheraw

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear night 43° 0%
9p clear night 40° 0%
12a clear night 37° 0%
3a clear night 35° 0%
6a clear night 34° 0%
9a clear day 43° 0%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
33
43
A
Sun0%
Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
34
57
A
Mon0%
Sunny Sunny
33
59
A
Tue0%
Sunny Sunny
34
63
B
Wed0%
Sunny Sunny
35
65
B
Thu0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
69
B
Fri0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
40
70
B
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 2009 · NOV. 11–12, 2009

3.38 inches in two days, the most for this week since 1893.

2

What Cheraw stands on

Cheraw’s center stands about 160 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 80 ft to 210 ft, a difference of 130 ft: gently rolling country.

Cheraw, northwest to southeast Cheraw160 ftGreat Pee Dee Riverabout 110 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 112×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center160 ft
Within 3 miles80 to 210 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (130 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceBrandywine Formation
Its ageMiocene, 5.3 to 23 million years old
5

Cheraw’s year

Cheraw has a humid subtropical climate. Summer afternoons average 91° in July; winter nights fall to about 31° in January. About 49 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 48.6 in
July, average91° / 71° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average54° / 31° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year48.6 in · wettest months: September and July
Snow a year0.1 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record108°F · July 23, 1952
Coldest on record−9°F · February 14, 1899
Wettest day on record10.8 in · September 16, 2018
Snowiest day on record16.0 in · February 26, 1914
90° days a year53 · about 2 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°66 · and 1 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHumid subtropical · Köppen Cfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Nov. 3, to the last in spring, about March 24 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and up · June 25 to Aug. 7; normal highs reach 90°
3Lows below freezing · Dec. 29 to Feb. 6; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Cheraw normally reaches 65° and falls to 40°. The record high is 83°, in 1964; the record low 20°, in 1977. The most rain on this date, 2.00 in, fell in 1940.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Cheraw, here. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 170 mito the Atlantic OceanHuckleberry Branch → Great Pee Dee → Schooner Creek → Waccamaw

A raindrop that lands in Cheraw reaches the Atlantic Ocean by way of Huckleberry Branch, the Great Pee Dee, Schooner Creek and the Waccamaw: about 170 river miles.