Blog

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.

Weekend forecast: Not quite as warm; showers return late Sunday

/ November 8, 2024 at 8:20 PM

A cold front will sag southward over the area overnight, taking the edge off some of this very unseasonable warmth (which included tying the record high of 85° at the airport today). We’ll still stay warmer than normal this weekend, though, as a more substantial airmass change remains largely out of reach for now.

Saturday starts in the mid-60s as high pressure pushes south into the area. Northeasterly winds will kick up a touch, and this will help keep temperatures from getting too far beyond the mid-70s in the afternoon despite a good bit of sunshine. It’ll be noticeably drier, too: the absurd-for-November 70s dewpoints get shunted southward in favor of drier air characterized by dewpoints in the upper 50s.

The reprieve is somewhat short-lived, though, as the parent high heads offshore, allowing a coastal trough to sharpen and move ashore Sunday. We start Sunday around 60°, but will warm back into the upper 70s in the afternoon with increasing cloud cover along with dewpoints heading back into the mid-60s. A shower or two will be possible as we head into Sunday evening, and that risk will hang around through Tuesday.

Looking ahead, we see next week continuing to generally feature above-normal temperatures for the first half, but a front should swing through late week that will knock temperatures back closer to November normals in time for the weekend.

Friday & the weekend: Turning cooler, but still unseasonable for November

/ November 7, 2024 at 10:56 PM

A brief respite from the really unseasonable weather arrives this weekend behind a front, but first we deal with Friday and the potential for a shower or two along with one more day of very warm temperatures. Expect lows in the upper 60s to yield to the low 80s in the afternoon with a mix of sun and clouds around the shower activity.

A front gets through later Friday, though, and this begins to temper things a little bit — though by no means anywhere near where we should be for this point in November. Expect a fairly nice day on Saturday, though, with lows in the mid-60s warming to the mid-70s in the afternoon under partly cloudy skies. A few more clouds arrive on the scene for Sunday, but we should stay rain-free again, with lows around 60° warming to the upper 70s in the afternoon.

We’ll briefly return to the 80s early next week before a front moves by on Tuesday. This front will help take the edge off some of the warmer temperatures, getting us much closer to mid-November normals, but still on the warm side of normal, with highs in the low to mid-70s and lows in the mid-50s expected starting around mid-week.

Thursday: Much-needed rain continues

/ November 6, 2024 at 10:25 PM

Rain continues on Thursday as northward-moving moisture from Hurricane Rafael interacts with a front. As far as average temperature goes, it’s going to be a particularly warm November day: expect to start the day in the upper 60s to around 70°, with highs topping out around 78° (largely governed by the expected rain). If it verifies, the low of 69° would be a new record warm low temperature for November 7, breaking the record of 68° set in 2018.

Rainfall totals should continue to climb across the area, with another 1-2″ possible across much of the metro overnight into Thursday evening. Expect the best chances for rain during the morning, with some scattering of the activity as we get into the afternoon and evening hours. Flooding doesn’t look to be a major concern here, but if training of rain does occur, some localized issues can’t be ruled out.

Read more »

Rest of the work week: Moderate to heavy rain Wednesday into Thursday; drying out for the weekend

/ November 5, 2024 at 6:05 PM

Many stations recorded a good bit of measurable rainfall yesterday, and it looks like we have another round of it coming Wednesday evening into Thursday courtesy of the interaction of Tropical Storm Rafael in the Gulf and a cold front. Meanwhile, the airmass remains awfully tropical for early November, and we should set a new record warm low temperature on Thursday as a result.

Wednesday will start out quiet and mild (mid-60s lows expected), but expect showers to increase across the area as we get into the afternoon and evening hours, including around the evening commute. Temperatures top out in the low 80s before rain overtakes the area. We could even hear some rumbles of thunder thanks to the spring-like dewpoints around 70-72°.

Rain continues on Thursday and should be around for much of the day. We start the day around 70° — which would be a record warm low for the date — and warm only to around the upper 70s given the cloud cover and ongoing rainfall. Many spots will end up with 1-2″ of rain before this is over, with even higher amounts possible west of 26. It’s much-needed rain, and given that it’s been so dry, the flooding risk is low (provided pockets of heavier rain don’t train over the same urban areas).

High pressure builds back in for Friday and into the weekend, giving us a chance to dry out. Warmer-than-normal temperatures will persist, with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s continuing each day well into next week.

Election Day: A few showers possible, but no washout

/ November 4, 2024 at 7:38 PM

A few showers will be in the cards as we head to the polls for Election Day on Tuesday, but it won’t be a washout and should be minimally disruptive to voting. We start the day about 15° above normal with lows in the mid-60s, warming to 80° in the afternoon. We’ll see some peeks of sun from time to time as well. Go out and make your voice heard!

Read more »

The week ahead: First significant rainfall in over a month possible

/ November 3, 2024 at 10:46 PM

The main story of the upcoming week of weather will be the potential for some actually measurable rainfall especially as we get into midweek. Temperatures will remain above normal, though, in a blow to sweater weather fans across the Lowcountry.

Read more »

Weekend forecast: Sun & clouds with maybe a stray shower; cooler on Sunday

/ November 1, 2024 at 5:54 PM

Unseasonable warmth continues on Saturday ahead of a front that will move south across the area late in the day. As has been the case the past few days, there will be a decent mix of cloud cover with sunshine at times as well. A stray shower can’t be totally discounted, but much of us should stay rain-free as the drought continues. Lows on Saturday start in the low 60s, warming to the low 80s in the afternoon.

Sunday runs a little cooler as high pressure wedges southward. We start the day around 60° and warm to the mid-70s in the afternoon — still above normal, but not quite as above-normal as we’ve seen temperatures go recently. A mix of clouds and sun continues to be expected, and a stray shower is still not totally out of the question. Measurable rainfall looks highly unlikely, though.

Finally, don’t forget: we fall back to Standard Time early Sunday morning. Take Saturday evening to move the manual clocks backwards, check the batteries in your smoke detector, and maybe give your NOAA Weather Radio a once-over, too.

Friday & the weekend: Sun, clouds, and unseasonable warmth as drought develops

/ October 31, 2024 at 11:14 PM

Unseasonable warmth rolls right into November as temperatures for Friday and Saturday remain upwards of 8-10° above normal for the start of the final month of hurricane season before a front cools things off slightly for Sunday. Overall, expect highs in the 80s on Friday and Saturday after starts in the low to mid-60s. A mix of sun and clouds will continue across the area, with perhaps a bit more sunshine on Saturday before a backdoor front moves by on Sunday, cooling us off a few degrees and thickening cloud cover once more.

Measurable rainfall remains extraordinarily difficult to come by; a few spots have had some sprinkles from time to time, but that’s about it. In fact, October 2024 is going to go down as the second-driest October on record with only 0.03″ of rain measured at the airport on October 4, and only traces of rain on a few occasions since then. This is second only to October 2000, when only a trace of rain was recorded that month. Records at the North Charleston climate site at the airport go back to 1937. As you can imagine, drought is developing over the area, and this week’s Drought Monitor puts much of the Lowcountry into moderate drought, while the rest of the state (except for a sliver of Lancaster and York counties) is now into Abnormally Dry conditions. We could certainly use a bit of rain, and none seems likely through at least the middle of next week.

Halloween: No tricks, just treats

/ October 30, 2024 at 9:02 PM

Expect quiet weather for Halloween this go-around as high pressure remains the dominant weather feature across the Lowcountry. It’ll be a mild one this year as temperatures start in the low 60s, warming to the low 80s in the afternoon under partly cloudy skies. The only concern may be if costumes run a little warm!

We’ll keep this going into the weekend. Maybe a shower Friday, but otherwise quiet weather continues with upper 70s to low 80s for highs each afternoon.

Rest of the work week: Back to the 80s

/ October 29, 2024 at 8:56 PM

After a coastal trough pushed ashore with a trace of rain (or more in a few lucky spots), the weather turns quiet once again on Wednesday, with another stretch of dry weather expected well into next week. We start the day in the low 60s, with temperatures warming back to the low 80s in the afternoon under partly cloudy skies. We’ll copy, paste, and delete a few clouds for Halloween, starting once again in the low 60s and warming to the low 80s in the afternoon. A few more clouds kick up for Friday ahead of a weakening front, but otherwise, temperatures do the same ol’ thing — low 60s to start, low 80s in the afternoon.

A small cooldown arrives this weekend, but that’ll take temperatures down from the low 80s to the upper 70s — definitely not a return to more seasonable weather, much less any sweater weather. The Climate Prediction Center continues to favor warmer than normal weather over the next couple weeks, while above-normal precipitation is a possibility heading into the second week of November. Stay tuned on that, though.