FLORENCE ? Just enough rain has fallen in just enough places to delay a meeting of the state's drought committee for at least a few weeks.

The Drought Response Committee met nearly two weeks ago, agreeing to not take any action while waiting to see if any significant rain fell across the state.

Several storms moved across South Carolina since then, dropping enough rain to keep the committee from needing to meet again for now, said state climatologist Hope Mizzell.

Areas of the Pee Dee saw quite a bit of rain last weekend, with more than an inch of rain reported in Williamsburg County and more than 3 inches in Florence and Darlington counties.

"Not everybody has seen as much rainfall as Florence. Other places, like in Greenville-Spartanburg, totaled less than half an inch," Mizzell said. "Had conditions continued to deteriorate and we hadn't seen any rain, then we would have convened the committee."

The drought monitor released by federal officials before the rain had roughly the northwestern half of the state in a moderate drought and a strip from about Spartanburg to Lancaster in a severe drought.

Much of the area has received less than half the normal rainfall since October, federal officials said.

The airports in Columbia and Greenville-Spartanburg both register more than 8 inches below normal rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.

And it's not just the drought in this state that is affecting South Carolina. Most of the state's rivers flow from North Carolina, which also has been unusually dry.

The flow of the Great Pee Dee River had slowed considerably in recent weeks as the rains stopped across central North Carolina.

The river's stage was 4.6 feet Monday, but recent rains should bring it up to about 8 feet later this week, the weather service said.