Topsy-turvy temperatures will feature prominently this weekend as a decently strong cold front comes through on Sunday. Ahead of that front, Saturday temperatures will warm from the mid-30s in the morning to the mid-60s in the afternoon as warmer air pumps in from the south and southwest. We’ll see clouds on the increase as the day goes on with the approaching front and a strong trough of low pressure that’ll help drive that front through and bring some much-needed rain for Sunday.

A lot has been made of the risk for winter weather on Sunday, but the ultimate outcome looks to be mostly rain for the Charleston metro area, with some flakes likely mixing in the further west toward I-95 you go. The front itself gets through early in the day, with the precipitation developing behind it as the trough of low pressure swings through. While it will stay mostly rain near the coast, a few flakes could mix in along and west of 17-A. However, accumulating snow, if snow falls at all, is not expected given surface temperatures in the upper 30s to mid-40s. Travel issues beyond the elevated risk of distracted driving at the sight of novelty snowflakes are not expected.

Looking ahead: A few rather chilly mornings coming up

As we take a peek into Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the abbreviated work week thereafter, we’ll find a string of days with below-normal temperatures, including three consecutive mornings in the 20s before warming back up toward normal getting into late week (albeit with a shower chance, too). A reinforcing front on Tuesday keeps highs suppressed to the mid-to-upper 40s before high pressure settles in overhead on Wednesday, allowing the airmass to moderate a little bit. Models are split on the timing and position of low pressure in the Southeast thereafter, but there’s some evidence to support some shower risk heading into the second half of the week. Details to come, though, as we get closer.

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