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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.

Rest of the work week: Late April warmth in mid-March

/ March 12, 2024 at 9:54 PM

The rest of the work week will be much warmer than mid-March normals as high pressure ridges across the area at the surface and aloft. Temperatures on Wednesday will start in the upper 40s, warming to near 80° in the afternoon under partly cloudy skies as a weak disturbance ripples across the area, bringing only an uptick in cloud cover and little else given such a dry atmosphere at the surface. Thursday will see us solidly back in the 80s once again with just a cloud or two at times as high pressure will be strongest that day. We’ll start to see cloud cover come back up for Friday as high pressure gets shunted offshore by the next storm system, though it’ll still be a very warm day by mid-March standards as lows bottom out in the mid-50s with highs warming to the low 80s in the afternoon. We should get much of the day in rain-free, though a shower or two will be possible as we get into the late afternoon and evening hours.

Tuesday’s forecast: Getting springier

/ March 11, 2024 at 7:44 PM

After one more somewhat chilly night — expect low 40s across much of the metro, with mid-to-upper 30s possible further inland — we start a warming trend that’ll get us into the 80s by the end of the week. Tuesday looks rather delightful: expect highs to top out in the low 70s away from the locally cooler coastline. Comfortably dry air will be in place with relative humidity bottoming out around 30% in the afternoon, and we’ll keep a solid amount of sunshine throughout the day. Winds will start to swing more southwesterly in the afternoon and kick up to around 5-10 MPH. Not bad!

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The week ahead: Mostly quiet and turning unseasonably warm

/ March 10, 2024 at 9:49 PM

The week ahead will be largely marked by high pressure before the next storm system starts to affect the area just in time for St. Patrick’s weekend. (Sorry.)

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Sunday: A nice day ahead

/ March 9, 2024 at 8:43 PM

After the cold front that helped instigate quite a busy morning of weather gets offshore, we end up with a rather nice Sunday as cloud cover clears out, leaving mostly sunny skies in its wake. Temperatures will start in the low 50s and warm to the upper 60s to around 70° in the afternoon. The only fly in the ointment will be the breeze: expect gusty conditions throughout the day as high pressure builds in, with winds 10-15 MPH perhaps gusting to 25-30 MPH at times.

Saturday’s forecast: An unsettled day with the potential for strong thunderstorms and flooding

/ March 8, 2024 at 7:34 PM

After one round of thunderstorms moved through Wednesday, a second round of unsettled weather, featuring potentially flooding rains in the morning and severe thunderstorms in the afternoon, lies ahead on Saturday.

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The week ahead: Periodically unsettled and warm

/ March 3, 2024 at 9:13 PM

Well, it will certainly feel like climatological spring this week as we stay on the warm side of normal for early March with a couple storm systems dropping through at times. First, though, we’ll get off to another potentially foggy start Monday morning as lows dip to the mid-50s. Fog should dissipate by mid-morning, and we’re looking at another warm day in the mid-70s under a mix of sun and clouds as high pressure asserts itself a bit more.

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Sunday’s forecast: More warmth, some fog, and maybe some showers

/ March 2, 2024 at 10:04 PM

Clouds will continue to hang around on Sunday with the specter of a shower or two remaining in the forecast. We’ll likely start the day with patches of potentially dense fog at times, so be ready for low visibility in the morning. The fog’s expected to mix out shortly after daybreak, leaving behind generally overcast to mostly cloudy skies for the remainder of the day. It’ll be a warm start, with temperatures in the upper 50s yielding to highs in the low 70s in the afternoon. As mentioned, a few showers are possible, but it’s quite possible that much of us get the day in rain-free. Still not a terrible idea to keep rain gear handy, though, just in case.

Weekend forecast: Shower chances hang around, but no washout, either

/ March 1, 2024 at 7:43 PM

Surface low pressure will have pulled well away from the Lowcountry by Saturday morning, but we don’t get completely off the hook for rain chances this weekend with a lingering front and a warm airmass. Temperatures will run well above normal — we start the day in the upper 50s, warming to the low 70s in the afternoon. Cloud cover will feature prominently, and as mentioned, there is the risk for a few showers from time to time, but we should have a decent amount of rain-free time as well.

Sunday will be similar as the front continues to hang around. We’ll start the day in the mid-to-upper 50s once again, warming to the low 70s with sun peeking through cloud cover occasionally. The risk for showers remains, though it will be a little lower than we saw on Saturday. Shower chances will quiet down for Sunday evening, leading to a dry Monday before shower and thunderstorm chances return to the forecast for Tuesday through much of the upcoming week.

Friday & the weekend: Unsettled start to March

/ February 29, 2024 at 10:35 PM

We’ll get March — and climatological spring — off to a fairly wet start on Friday as moisture overruns the area throughout the day. We start the day within range of normal — generally the upper 40s — but only warm to the mid-60s in the afternoon as rain showers increase throughout the day. There could be some pockets of heavy rain at times, particularly depending on the positioning of a developing low pressure system, but right now the risk for the heaviest rain looks to stay offshore. Still, it’ll be a day for the rain gear as rain looks to continue well into Friday night.

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Thursday turns much cooler ahead of an unsettled weekend

/ February 28, 2024 at 10:23 PM

We’ll wake up to much cooler air on Leap Day as a cold front will be long-gone by Thursday morning. Temperatures will start in the mid-40s, warming only to the low 60s at best as high pressure wedges into the area. We’ll get some peeks of sun at times, but the mid-and-high cloud deck will prove formidable. It’ll be a breezy day as well, especially in the early going. By evening, we will start to see more in the way of low-level moisture return to the area, which could bring a few showers late Thursday.

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