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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: 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!

Tuesday: A warm finish to 2024

/ December 30, 2024 at 11:26 PM

We’ll finish 2024 on a rather warm note before a cold front ushers in the first of what should be several rounds of cold air to start 2025.

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The week ahead: A benign, seasonably cool start to 2025

/ December 29, 2024 at 11:08 PM

After a windy and wet cold front on Sunday that, thankfully, was devoid of any severe weather in the Lowcountry, we’ll finish 2024 on a warm but quiet note and ring in 2025 with more seasonable temperatures.

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Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms ahead of a front, with a few strong storms possible

/ December 28, 2024 at 11:06 PM

Sunday looks to be an active weather day as a cold front approaches the area. Expect at least scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms to develop throughout the day, with a possible squall line moving by sometime in the early to mid-afternoon hours.

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Weekend forecast: Unseasonably warm; strong storms possible Sunday

/ December 27, 2024 at 11:51 PM

The final weekend of 2024 will be unseasonably warm as we get into the warm sector of an approaching storm system that could bring some rough conditions on Sunday.

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Clouds and showers to continue for a fair bit of Friday; tapering late

/ at 9:13 AM

A coastal trough continues to affect the area today, with showers overrunning the top of a cold high pressure wedge that has kept temperatures pretty constantly in the mid-40s for the past couple days now. We should see that trough lift inland later today, though, as high pressure anchored to the northeast weakens and steps aside. This will help break the wedge and allow a little warmer air to move in, especially later, though we will stay somewhat cool with highs in the upper 50s. The risk for showers should also diminish with time today, though we can expect off and on rain for much of it.

Christmas forecast: Rain tapers Tuesday morning, then mostly quiet and seasonable

/ December 24, 2024 at 1:40 AM

We get Christmas Eve off to a chilly and wet start on Tuesday, but showers will diminish throughout the day as low pressure pulls away from the area. Temperatures bottom out in the upper 30s to around 40°, with wind chills making it feel even cooler. As the day goes on, temperatures will head into the low to mid-50s in the afternoon with some breaks in the clouds developing.

Christmas morning will start out seasonably cool, with lows once again topping out in the upper 30s to around 40°. It’ll be a bit warmer of a day with more sunshine expected; highs should peak around 60° in the afternoon. Northeasterly winds will be a touch on the breezy side, but otherwise, no concerns for Christmas Day.

I hope you have a happy and safe holiday!