Weather will turn sharply warmer on Friday as Mother Nature boots up the heat pump, with record highs in the forecast Friday through Sunday. Records at the airport are likely to fall all three days as a rather strong subtropical ridge builds in from the south and surface winds swing around to the south and southwest. The ridge will help keep any sort of thunderstorm activity at bay, too, with just fair weather cumulus mixing in for some brief relief from sunshine from time to time. Dewpoints will stay relatively sane in the mid-60s, so while it’ll be hot, it won’t be quite as humid as we might find in the summertime. Temperatures moderate some as you get closer to the coast, with mid-80s expected in downtown Charleston, and mid-to-upper 70s at the beaches thanks to water temperatures around 65°. Suffice to say, this is a terrible weekend for beaches to be closed. Please continue to stay close to home and do your part to ensure we can stop the spread of COVID-19!