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Rest of the work week: Chilly starts, but gradually warming

/ December 19, 2023 at 9:13 PM

Generally quiet weather continues through the rest of the week as high pressure remains the prominent feature at the surface and aloft. A chilly night lies ahead Tuesday into Wednesday morning, with temperatures dipping into the 20s across much of the area away from the beaches and downwind from Lake Moultrie. Make sure plants are covered and pets are inside. Temperatures warm to the low 50s — a few degrees warmer than Tuesday’s high of 51° — with mostly sunny skies featuring some transient high clouds at times.

Thursday gets off to another sub-freezing start, but the warming trend becomes more pronounced as ridging aloft strengthens further. Expect highs on Thursday to top out around 60°, once again under partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies.

Friday will still get off to a chilly start in the mid-30s, though most of us should stay above freezing as the airmass continues to modify. Highs on Friday get to the low 60s under partly cloudy skies as mid- and high-level clouds continue to move by.

Christmas weekend: A rainmaker under the tree

Heading into Christmas weekend, temperatures will be warming slightly above normal beginning on Saturday and lasting into the first part of next week. Timing on our next storm system is still being worked out, but the latest forecast thinking keeps Saturday and Sunday rain-free across the Lowcountry. Lows will run in the mid-40s while highs will run in the mid-60s each day. We start Christmas Day even warmer, with lows in the mid-50s yielding to highs in the upper 60s. Showers, though, should begin to develop as a coastal trough sharpens and a front approaches from the west, and we’ll keep these rain chances in play through Tuesday as low pressure develops to our west and moves across the area.


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