Welcome to a very refreshing Monday morning as we start the day in the low 40s with plentiful dry air, which will make for a very nice and sunny day in the Lowcountry. Enjoy today and tomorrow as we head back into unsettled territory to bring in March.

Where have you been?

Note: Non-weather content in this paragraph. If dog stories aren’t your cup of tea, I understand — feel free to skip right ahead to the weather.

Before we get going into the weather, I wanted to take a moment to address my reduced presence here and on Twitter over the past week. Our beloved dachshund, Charlie Brown, suffered a serious injury the night of Valentine’s Day that left him completely paralyzed from the neck down. This injury required emergency surgery the following Friday and hospitalization until last Tuesday.

I am happy to report, though, that Charlie not only came home early, but he is getting stronger every day. While walking is still challenging for him, he is making great strides in his recovery as we rehabilitate him to good health. Indeed, it looks very likely he will recover full use of his legs! In the interim, though, he requires a good bit of care and that can be a bit time-consuming. Blogs will still be somewhat sparse as my wife and I nurse him back to health.

A special thanks to Dr. Shomper and the team at Charleston Veterinary Referral Center for the miracles they worked on our boy. They are amazing, caring people and it’s not clear that Charlie would still be with us if it weren’t for them.

Now, back to the weather.

Quiet start to the week

After a periodically rainy and largely dreary week last week, we find ourselves with plenty of sunshine and dry air for Monday as a strong storm system, responsible for extremely high winds from North Carolina into New England, lifts out of the weather picture today. High pressure at the surface will keep things nice and comfortable with highs topping out in the mid-60s in the afternoon.

High pressure then begins to slip offshore on Tuesday. Southerly flow behind the high pressure system will allow temperatures to warm into the low 70s for Tuesday. Moisture will also be on the increase, though, and we’ll have a bit more cloud cover as a result. A few showers will be possible late Tuesday, but the vast majority of rain holds out until overnight.

Unsettled mid-to-late week

A series of disturbances will keep the weather unsettled as we close out February and head into March. There aren’t any washout days in the forecast, but you’ll want to make sure outdoor activities have a plan B through the rest of the week as at least scattered showers look to factor into the weather picture each day.

Warmer-than-normal temperatures will persist throughout much of the week as the flow aloft remains zonal (or roughly west to east) with no major blasts of Canadian air on the horizon for several days. This looks to change as we head into the weekend, though, as a strong upper disturbance shoves a cold front through the area sometime Saturday into Sunday. This will make for much cooler, below-normal temperatures as we start the first full week of March. As always, long-range forecasts are subject to change — be sure to check back for forecast updates as needed.

Vote @chswx for Best Local Twitter Feed!

The Charleston City Paper’s Best of Charleston voting is open again, and thanks to your nominations, I am a finalist for Best Local Twitter Feed. If you like what I am doing with @chswx, I would be honored by your vote. Voting is open from now until midnight Thursday, March 5th.

As always, thanks to you for your support — especially those of you who are patrons! It is hard to believe that @chswx is entering its 12th year this year, and it remains very, very true that I cannot do this without you.