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Author: Jared Smith

Jared Smith founded @chswx on Twitter in 2008 as an experiment in disseminating weather data through social media. In the ensuing decade-and-a-half, @chswx has provided live coverage of tropical cyclones, tornadoes, severe weather, and even a couple bouts of winter weather to the good people of Charleston, SC.

The week ahead: Another taste of spring

/ February 20, 2022 at 8:07 PM

After a really nice, seasonable weekend, temperatures will climb back into the 70s again on Monday, with 80s returning to challenge record highs by mid-week. A cold front looks to snap us back to more seasonable temperatures for the weekend.

Precipitation-wise, there will be a slight chance for some showers on Monday as a coastal trough develops and brings Atlantic moisture inland, but we otherwise look to stay dry through Friday, when the front brings a small chance of showers to the area.

With such warm temperatures and cooler shelf waters, sea fog is certainly a possibility over the next few days. This may impact visibility and temperatures at times, especially near the coast.

A good-looking (and cool) SEWE weekend ahead

/ February 18, 2022 at 9:22 PM

No weather concerns this weekend as high pressure is the main weather factor across the area. Temperatures will run much cooler than they did today — for crying out loud, we reached 80°! — but will feel much more seasonable overall for mid-February. There will be plenty of sunshine in the area, but the cooler airmass keeps highs in the low 60s on Saturday and perhaps struggling to reach 60° on Sunday. Overall, though, it’s solid sweater weather without the rain gear, and that isn’t bad for a big SEWE weekend in the Lowcountry.

Friday & the weekend: Cooling off and clearing out post-frontal passage

/ February 17, 2022 at 9:59 PM

We’ll be dealing with some showers on Friday as a cold front swings through the area. It’ll be one more day of unseasonably warm temperatures — the forecast low of 65° Friday morning is around the normal high for this part of the year — but those will come to an end with the frontal passage. The weekend looks great — mostly sunny skies with seasonable temperatures at or a touch below normal are in the forecast as high pressure builds across the area. Hope y’all get a chance to enjoy it a bit!

Mostly cloudy and much warmer Thursday ahead of a front

/ February 16, 2022 at 6:16 PM

After an unexpectedly wet Wednesday — the product of strong convergence within a moist onshore flow — we’ll turn warmer for Thursday as winds go southerly ahead of the front. Temperatures in the mid-70s appear likely by the afternoon despite mostly cloudy skies. A shower or two can’t be totally ruled out, but the feature that brought us the rain today will not be in place tomorrow.

As the front gets closer later Thursday evening, shower chances will begin to head back up from the west, with the best chances of rain generally around and after midnight into Friday. A rumble of thunder can’t be totally ruled out, but severe weather is currently not expected.

The front gets through Friday with additional showers and maybe a thunderstorm. We then cool off for the weekend, with temperatures returning closer to normal values (low-mid 60s) for this time of year.

Rest of the work week: A front looms, but we get quite warm in the meantime

/ February 15, 2022 at 6:47 PM

The rest of the work week will feature ever-warmer temperatures as a cold front approaches the area. Wednesday will be our last largely rain-free day, though, as shower chances enter the forecast for Thursday afternoon as the front gets closer. We could even hear some rumbles of thunder overnight Thursday into Friday morning. We’ll keep shower chances around for Friday, but peep those highs: mid-70s on Thursday and Friday. It’s been a while since we had a SEWE start out that warm, that’s for sure. Once the front is through sometime Friday evening, temperatures will calm down to more seasonable low-to-mid-60s highs for the weekend with a rain-free forecast expected.

Warming trend begins Tuesday

/ February 14, 2022 at 9:07 PM

After a relatively chilly day to start the work week, we’ll begin to see temperatures rebound beginning Tuesday. Lows will once again scrape freezing in the morning, but we’ll be seeing highs top out in the low 60s in the afternoon with mostly sunny skies expected.

Temperatures continue to head up as the week goes on. Wednesday should scrape close to 70° in the afternoon, then we get warmer Thursday into Friday as a cold front approaches. Looks like our best rain chances for this week arrive beginning Thursday afternoon into Friday as the front gets through the area. More exact timings will become clearer over the next couple days, so stay tuned as those forecasts are fine-tuned. The good news is that the weekend’s weather looks seasonable and quiet, with temperatures within spitting distance of normal and rain-free conditions expected.

A love letter to cool-weather fans on Valentine’s Day

/ at 8:50 AM

Temperatures are much cooler today in the wake of a cold front that moved by the area yesterday. We’ve started the day in the mid-30s at many spots, and temperatures don’t look to crack 60° this afternoon despite full sunshine. It’s a…erm…lovely day for the cool-weather fans in our midst. Looking for something warmer from Mother Nature? You don’t have to wait long — we’re back in the 70s by mid-week.

The weekend: Warm Saturday, turning cooler with a few showers Sunday

/ February 11, 2022 at 8:26 PM

The weekend’s weather will turn on a cold front on Sunday. Saturday’s certainly the better day to get out and about with highs topping out in the low 70s despite increasing cloud cover. The cold front should get through the area sometime Sunday morning, accompanied by a wind shift to the northwest. Showers will be possible ahead of and around frontal passages, with slight shower chances indicated from early Sunday morning through the early afternoon hours. Sunday’s forecast high temperatures will be reached in the early afternoon before steadily falling for the rest of the day as cooler and drier air advects into the area. This airmass will make us all feel like we got the cold shoulder on Valentine’s Day, but temperatures will warm quickly thereafter, with a return to the 70s by late next week.

Friday & the weekend: 70s return, briefly

/ February 10, 2022 at 8:17 PM

After an absolutely gorgeous day today, we’ve essentially got a repeat on tap for Friday as high pressure remains in control of our weather. Temperatures will once again top out right around 70° with low humidity continuing. Try to get outside if you can!

Saturday may actually run even a touch warmer, but increasing cloud cover will portend changes coming to the area as a cold front approaches the area Saturday night. Right now it looks to come through sometime Sunday morning, which should act to knock high temperatures down around 10° from the previous day. Even colder air will arrive for Valentine’s Day, but temperatures look to moderate back to spring preview levels as next week goes on. Overall, it looks like we’re going to end February on a warmer note, and that isn’t too shabby considering the pretty chilly stretch we’ve been in over the last month or so.

Rest of the work week: Quiet, warming up

/ February 8, 2022 at 9:07 PM

After a couple really dreary days across the Lowcountry, we will finish the balance of the work week with much more sunshine as high pressure builds into the area from the southwest. This’ll not only help clear us out, but the westerly winds will help temperatures moderate as well, with temperatures heading a few degrees above normal to close out the week.

Wednesday may start with some patches of dense fog across the area, with a better risk of fog found inland of 17-A. We’ll want to watch surface temperatures closely, as some spots well inland could be at risk of some freezing fog overnight into tomorrow morning, potentially producing some slick spots on bridges and overpasses near the I-95 corridor. This does not appear to be a concern for Charleston proper, though. If they do form, any slick spots will not last terribly long after sunrise as temperatures quickly head into the 50s before peaking in the low 60s in the afternoon.

From there, the airmass will continue to moderate, allowing for highs in the mid-60s on Thursday and the upper 60s on Friday under mostly sunny skies. We’ll start those days generally around 40°, too, which is right around normal for this point in the year. All in all, not too shabby to close out the work week. Looks like we get Saturday in rain-free, too, but with a few more clouds before rain chances kick back up Sunday as a frontal system moves by.