After over an inch and a half of rain today that caused flooding in downtown Charleston, we are going to see a nice break for a few days with plenty of sunshine. Temperatures will run cooler than normal for early March with highs in the low 60s Friday and Sunday. Saturday will be even cooler in the wake of a dry cold front that swings through sometime Friday afternoon.

Friday will be pretty windy, with gusts 30-35 MPH possible across the area. NWS notes in its forecast discussion that there is the potential for gusts to 40 MPH on elevated roadways (read: the Cooper River and Wando bridges), so be extra cautious when driving.

Next rain chance could arrive as soon as next Tuesday, but for now, enjoy drying out!

We have a soggy Thursday ahead as a strong upper-level disturbance drives low pressure through the Gulf Coast states along a stalled front. Said disturbance will arrive with copious amounts of moisture to produce heavy rainfall, perhaps on the tune of 1-2″ on top of the 3/4-inch rainfall we’ve already received across much of the area on Wednesday. This may cause some concerns about localized flooding, particularly this afternoon near high tide. (More about that in a sec.) Rain will come to an end across the area Thursday evening as low pressure heads northeast, turning winds to the northwest and drying us out.

Temperatures will remain in the mid-to-upper 50s on Thursday as we look to remain in the cool sector of the storm for the duration of the event. While there could be some wobbles in the position of the aforementioned front, it’s expected to remain south of the area.

Warm weather continues across the Lowcountry for Tuesday, as we remain ahead of a cold front to the north. Disturbances embedded within the upper-air flow will bring periodic shower chances for early morning and again in the late afternoon/early evening. Don’t be totally shocked if we hear some rumbles of thunder, either, but don’t count on it, either. Bottom line: Keep rain gear nearby and be ready for a slower evening commute.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: We’ll kick off the work week in the 70s, with rain chances building in later in the day Monday and sticking around through early Friday before a front pushes through, taking the rain with it and dropping temperatures to the upper 50s for Saturday and Sunday. Yes, despite the change in the calendar, we have not turned the page on the unsettled pattern that you can basically set your watch to at this point.

Monday should be mostly dry, but be ready for a chance of showers during the evening commute. Best rain chances arrive after dark.

The calendar has turned to March, and with that comes the end of meteorological winter. Meteorological winter runs from the first of December to the end of February, and what a warm winter it was: With an average temperature of 54.8°, it was the fifth-warmest winter on record at Charleston International Airport since record-keeping began at that site in 1938. At Downtown Charleston (Waterfront Park), it was the ninth warmest winter on record, with an average temperature of 55.6°. (Records downtown started in 1893.)

Another chilly day awaits as temperatures go toward the freezing mark away from the coast on Friday morning. Temperatures will top out in the mid to upper 50s under mostly sunny skies and a breezy west wind which will make it feel a little cooler.

While a hard freeze is not anticipated thanks to winds staying somewhat elevated, you might want to throw some covering over sensitive plants to stay on the safe side. Make sure your pets are in a warm place, too!

It’s a much, much cooler start to Thursday as a cold front swung through late yesterday. Deep-layer dry air will keep skies clear throughout the day, and the cooler high pressure building in from the west will keep temperatures down in the mid-50s this afternoon. It’s a bit windy in the wake of the front; morning lows in the low 40s feel more like the mid-30s.

We start this Wednesday with temperatures remaining close to normal highs for this time of year. At 7am, it was 63° at many stations across the Tri-County, with Moncks Corner running a little cooler at 60°.

We’ll see showers, some heavy at times particularly away from the immediate coast, give way to some breaks in the rain for a fair bit of the late morning into early afternoon before a cold front begins its final push toward the coast. A wet evening commute appears likely, with perhaps some rumbles of thunder mixed in as well.

Temperatures will rise into the low 70s ahead of the rainfall late this afternoon and early evening. The front should clear the area before midnight, clearing us out and cooling us off for Thursday, when highs will top out in the mid-50s.

Showers in association with an approaching front and some favorable upper-level energy will continue overnight Monday into Tuesday morning. As we all know, any amount of rain can make a commute somewhat interesting, so be ready to spend a little extra time in traffic in the morning.

The other change with Tuesday is that despite cloud cover and lingering showers, we’ll be headed back to around 70° in the afternoon. A warm front will lift north of the area overnight, and we’ll likely start the day in the upper 50s to around 60°. This warmth will be relatively short-lived — by Wednesday afternoon, a cold front will be moving through the area, and we’ll make a return to below normal temperatures for Thursday into the weekend.

Our seemingly standard Winter 2020 pattern remains in force this week: A warm, unsettled start to the work week gives way to a cooler, drier weekend. Before it’s all said and done, NWS expects another inch of rain or so on top of the 4.04″ that has fallen in this wetter-than-average February. The best chance of rain is overnight Monday into Tuesday, with some lingering showers possible early Wednesday. A cold front will knock temperatures down several degrees below late February norms by Thursday, and we may ring in the start of meteorological spring (March 1) with a freeze in the morning. All in all, just another standard week in what passes for winter in this part of the world.