After a rambunctious Monday that featured widespread showers and thunderstorms leading to flash flooding downtown as well as a lightning strike caught on camera in Mt. Pleasant, the weather will return to a more traditional summertime pattern beginning Tuesday as Charleston County heads back to class. Temperatures will start on the mild side, generally in the mid-to-upper 70s, warming to the upper 80s in the afternoon. Mix in the continued humidity, and it’ll feel closer to 98°. Scattered showers and storms should fire again in the afternoon along and ahead of the seabreeze, and yes, there is a risk of heavy rain with these storms, but the risk for flash flooding will be a bit lower especially as storm motions should be a bit faster.

After a dreary weekend, a more standard summertime pattern returns to the Lowcountry as high pressure ridges into the area aloft, finally breaking down the high pressure wedge and stalled front that’s kept us unsettled (but at least on the cool side).

Cooler-than-normal temperatures continue this weekend, but the cost is continued rounds of showers and thunderstorms as moisture overruns a stationary front to the south and a trough of low pressure develops aloft.

After an unusually cool and cloudy early-August day across the Lowcountry, in which highs largely did not breach 80° (good for a new record cool high temperature at North Charleston, breaking the record of 80° set just last year), we should see a bit more warmer air tomorrow as the high pressure wedge which reasserted itself today weakens a bit toward the coast. This will allow the seabreeze to get going a bit more, setting us up for an afternoon of scattered storms, with the best risk of precipitation generally east of 17-A. Lows in the low 70s will warm to the mid-80s in the afternoon — still several degrees below normal for this point in August — but it’ll still be somewhat muggy.

With the stalled front back offshore, northeasterly winds will be back in play and turning temperatures down a bit once again starting Thursday. Expect lows in the low 70s to start the day with some broken clouds and some sunshine as well. We should see showers and storms kick off with the seabreeze in the afternoon, though, which could pack some heavy downpours as deep moisture remains in place. These storms will follow the surface northeasterly winds down the coast. Be ready for periods of heavy rain and perhaps the risk for some flooding in a few spots as well.

The rest of the work week will remain unsettled as the frontal zone that’s been hanging around for several days begins to trek back toward the coast, cooling us back off a little bit but keeping showers and thunderstorms in the forecast.

We remain on the cool side of normal on Tuesday, though a few more breaks in the clouds should allow temperatures to turn warmer, with highs approaching the mid-to-upper 80s in the afternoon after starting the day in the low 70s. Periods of showers and maybe a few thunderstorms will continue to be possible, though it won’t rain all the time. Some guidance suggests storms kicking off on the seabreeze later in the afternoon, which could produce some heavy downpours considering the continued feed of moisture and energy from the southwest. Severe weather is not expected, though.

The stalled front to our south which helped bring about much more comfortable temperatures for the weekend will generally meander for the first part of the week as high pressure remains anchored well to the north, keeping our weather periodically unsettled. We’ll then transition back more toward a traditional summer pattern as we head into later in the week.

The heat wave that brought July to a close has ended courtesy of an incoming front, which will help cool things off (finally!) this weekend as the front moves through early Saturday. However, that comes at the cost of the risk for numerous showers and thunderstorms that could produce flooding rains. The risk will continue to increase as Friday night wears on, and with the front stalling to the south, periods of showers and thunderstorms will continue over the weekend and over the next several days. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the heaviest rain will fall, but generally speaking, a few inches of rain should be fairly easy for many of us to come by. It won’t rain all the time, either, but when it does, be ready for it.

There is a low, but non-zero, severe weather risk Friday night that will diminish as we get into Saturday behind the front. Once the front is by, winds will go northeasterly, and despite the risk for thunderstorms, the air will turn a bit cooler and drier as dewpoints fall to around 70°. Saturday starts in the mid-70s, but with the influence of the front and storms in the vicinity, highs only peak in the mid-80s. Sunday starts even cooler, with lows in the low 70s warming to the low 80s in the afternoon. We look to stay in the 80s for a few days as the front lingers to our south, too, so despite the rain, at least we won’t be dealing with the dangerous heat of the past week-plus, which helped propel July into the fourth warmest on record at the airport climate site in North Charleston. (Records for that site go back to 1937.)

The end to the heat wave is in sight, but we have one more day to go before a front moves in from the north, replacing the oppressive heat with numerous showers and thunderstorms for the weekend. (Sorry.)