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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.

Weekend forecast: Rain departs Saturday, with sunshine (and continued chill) thereafter

/ January 11, 2025 at 12:47 AM

After a day in which we received a trace of snow at the airport for the first time since the January 2018 winter storm, we will dry out on Saturday with low pressure moving away from the area. We start the day with showers tapering off in the early morning; these should be gone by mid-morning, though. Lows will bottom out in the 30s overnight but we’ll be warming up as the night goes on, and we should wake up to temperatures in the 40s Saturday morning. As low pressure departs, so does the cloud cover, and we should end up with a good bit of sunshine before it’s all said and done. Expect highs to reach around 50-51° or so — you’ll definitely still want the jackets.

Sunday starts out in frigid fashion once again with lows in the mid-20s expected. Highs will only reach about 50° despite plenty of sunshine as northerly winds continue to keep the airmass a little on the chilly side. The good news is that we should be largely dried out before Sunday morning’s freeze, so I’m currently not anticipating any traffic concerns. Stay warm and enjoy the weekend!

Friday & the weekend: Winter storm gives us mostly rain; back half of the weekend looking OK

/ January 9, 2025 at 5:48 PM

Low pressure organizing in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the southern Texas coast, will move east and northeast heading into Friday, bringing snow and ice to the I-85 corridor and an otherwise raw, gross day of cold rain here to the Lowcountry. We start the day in the mid-20s, and recent guidance signals that there is a slight chance of a few snowflakes through about 10am as a band of precipitation moves north across the area, with the best chance of catching a few conversational flurries further inland around I-95, but they won’t last as temperatures at the surface and aloft warm up. No traffic impacts are expected (unless someone gets distracted by a snowflake, anyway). There should be a little bit of a dry slot in the early afternoon before more steady rain moves in from the west along with the low; this will keep us in the rain for much of the mid-to-late afternoon into the overnight. Highs on Friday will crack the low 40s but won’t warm much more, so again, be ready to bundle up and stay that way if you’re headed out. (Honestly, a great night to stay in with soup and a good movie.)

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Thursday: Cold day ahead with wind chills in the teens in the morning

/ January 8, 2025 at 10:45 PM

Thursday will be the coldest day of the week as a little reinforcing cool air moves into the area from the north. We start the day in the mid-20s, but the wind will factor in a bit more than the previous couple mornings, driving wind chills down into the teens across even the Charleston metro area. Thus, a Cold Weather Advisory will be in effect until 9am. Despite unfettered sunshine, highs will struggle to the mid-40s in the afternoon, and with the persistent north to northwest winds around 5-10 MPH, it’ll still feel like the upper 30s throughout the day. Layer up accordingly — you’ll be glad you did.

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Rest of the work week: A frigid few mornings ahead

/ January 7, 2025 at 8:23 PM

The chilly week continues as we get over the hump and down the stretch with high pressure in place for a couple more days ahead of a storm system that will affect the area Friday night into Saturday. You’ll want to make sure you have sensitive plants covered and your pets indoors the next few nights for sure with such cold temperatures expected!

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Tuesday: A stretch of cold weather begins

/ January 6, 2025 at 6:35 PM

The weather takes a turn for the cold and stays there for the rest of the work week starting Tuesday in the wake of a front that passed through Monday evening. We’ll start Tuesday below freezing away from the coast, with lows in the low 30s expected. A bit of a breeze — though certainly not the gusty winds we saw on Monday — will keep wind chills in the low 20s Tuesday morning, so prepare accordingly for bus stops. Highs on Tuesday will struggle to the mid-to-upper 40s despite plenty of sunshine as cold and dry high pressure builds in.

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The week ahead: Windy, unsettled start leads into a chilly few days ahead of the next storm system

/ January 5, 2025 at 11:09 PM

A chilly week ahead is bookended by two winter storm systems that will affect the area. Whether wintry precipitation gets involved remains to be seen; the probability of anything but cold rain taking place in the Charleston metro remains very low.

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Weekend forecast: Chill continues; a touch warmer Sunday despite more clouds

/ January 3, 2025 at 5:55 PM

Expect largely quiet weather this weekend as high pressure generally maintains control over our weather. It’ll be chilly, though, even by January standards (especially Saturday). We start Saturday below freezing with lows around 30-31° in the metro, with wind chills dipping to the mid-20s around daybreak. As always this time of year, expect warmer low temperatures near the coast and even cooler temperatures in more rural, remote locations. High temperatures will only head to the low 50s in the afternoon despite plenty of sunshine. It’ll be pretty dry, too, with dewpoints mixing down to the upper teens in the height of the afternoon.

Sunday starts out on a similarly cold note, but we’ll start to see high pressure wane a little throughout the day ahead of the next storm system. Expect an uptick in cloud cover as Sunday goes on, but otherwise, winds turning a little more southerly will allow for temperatures to warm to the mid-to-upper 50s. Rain should hold off until after midnight, thankfully, so we’ll get the dry weekend intact.

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Friday & the weekend: Sunshine and chill

/ January 2, 2025 at 6:24 PM

Sunny yet chilly weather will be the norm for Friday and the weekend with high pressure generally in control.

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Thursday: A little cooler as high pressure settles in

/ January 1, 2025 at 10:30 PM

High pressure will be settling into the area overnight into Thursday, and this will drive a mostly sunny but seasonably cool day across the area. Expect lows in the mid-30s (with perhaps some freezing values in rural locations) to start Thursday, warming to just the mid-50s in the afternoon despite all the sunshine. Generally, temperatures will be running a few degrees below early January normals (normal high of 60°, normal low of 39°), but nothing terribly out of bounds.

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Start of 2025: Seasonably cool, generally quiet

/ December 31, 2024 at 7:02 PM

2025 gets off to a seasonably cool start in the wake of a cold front that will be coming through overnight tonight. Lows on Wednesday bottom out in the mid-40s, but ongoing cool advection will keep highs around 60° or so despite just about full sunshine during the day. Thursday runs a little cooler, starting in the mid-30s and warming to just the mid-50s in the afternoon, and Friday is essentially a carbon copy, with lows in the mid-30s once again yielding to highs in the mid-50s in the afternoon with plenty of sunshine. Overall, the start to the year is quiet, with the first rain chance of the year coming up on Monday.

Have a happy and safe New Year’s celebration. Here’s to you and yours in 2025!