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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: Stormy Saturday, drier Sunday

/ May 29, 2026 at 11:44 PM

Rain spreads back into the Lowcountry on Saturday as a stationary front buckles back northward across the area. A bit of upper-level energy will also kick in some lift, and that’ll result in scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms at times on Saturday. Right now it looks like the best chances will be found in the morning through early afternoon hours, but a shower or storm just can’t be ruled out during any part of the day. Temperatures will start in the low 70s, warming to the mid-80s in the afternoon at best.

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Friday & the weekend: Turning cooler, still unsettled at times

/ May 28, 2026 at 8:24 PM

A cold front pushing southward overnight will stall out to our southwest, pushing some drier air into the area in the meantime and cooling things off a few degrees compared to the past few days. Friday still starts in the low 70s, but still a few degrees cooler than Thursday. Temperatures will head to the mid-80s in the afternoon with a few showers or storms possible midday, but otherwise, expect a quieter weather day compared to Thursday’s rambunctious thunderstorms which brought some much-needed rain to the Highway 17 corridor and points east.

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Thursday: Front approaches, storm chances improve

/ May 27, 2026 at 10:05 PM

Heat peaks Thursday before scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms fire along the seabreeze in the afternoon. From there, a cold front sags southward across the area, and keeps shower and storm chances going through Thursday night. We’ll start the day on the warm side with lows in the mid-70s. More westerly winds will keep things a bit drier to start the day, but these winds will help enhance convergence along the seabreeze for those aforementioned showers and thunderstorms as we get into the afternoon. Before thunderstorms begin to disrupt the temperature curve, highs will peak in the low 90s, and heat indices will easily run in the mid-90s, perhaps getting closer to 100° than we’d like in the Highway 17 corridor.

Severe thunderstorms aren’t expected, but some gusty winds can’t be ruled out. There’s plenty of available moisture for a lot of rain to fall in a short period in a few spots, too, but not everyone will see a downpour. However, it seems probable that most of us should be able to measure precipitation by Friday morning.

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Rest of the work week: More rain chances coming

/ May 26, 2026 at 9:32 PM

More opportunities for much-needed rainfall will continue for the rest of the work week and beyond as a front approaches the area and stalls out. Warm and muggy conditions will be a mainstay as well, especially Wednesday and Thursday.

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Rest of the work week: Unsettled conditions continue

/ May 25, 2026 at 10:26 PM

Unsettled weather will continue for the rest of the abbreviated work week as we remain on the periphery of Atlantic high pressure, with plenty of moisture available for the seabreeze and other boundaries to kick off showers and thunderstorms each day. Some much-needed rain will fall, and those chances will improve heading into next weekend.

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Memorial Day: Isolated to scattered storms, otherwise partly cloudy and warm

/ at 12:41 AM

A few more showers and thunderstorms will be possible on Memorial Day, but overall it will be a fairly decent representation of summertime. We’ll start the day in the low 70s, warming to the mid-to-upper 80s in the afternoon. Showers and thunderstorms will be most likely in the morning, propagating inland during the day. Coverage will be less than Sunday, but you’ll still want to keep an ear out for thunder, which will be your signal to head indoors as at that point, you are at risk of getting struck by lightning. However, this is no reason to cancel any outdoor plans — just make sure you’ve got a good secondary, indoor plan.

Memorial Day weekend update: On & off showers and storms possible

/ May 23, 2026 at 10:05 PM

Showers and maybe a few thunderstorms will continue to be in play for the forecast as we get into the midpoint of the long Memorial Day weekend, though the greater activity will continue to be found along and west of the I-95 corridor. For Sunday, we can expect the bulk of our activity likely during the morning and early afternoon hours before the seabreeze pushes inland and takes most of the activity with it. However, showers will be possible throughout the day, so be ready to move outdoor plans inside just in case a shower or thunderstorm approaches.

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Memorial Day weekend: Occasionally unsettled

/ May 22, 2026 at 10:12 PM

Shower and thunderstorm chances will accompany a warm and muggy Memorial Day weekend, but don’t expect a rainout, either. Temperatures will generally run in the upper 80s each day, but dewpoints around 70° will make it feel closer to 90-91° pretty much every afternoon.

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Friday & Memorial Day Weekend: Periodically unsettled, but no washout

/ May 21, 2026 at 8:20 PM

It’s a very summer-like look to the forecast this Memorial Day Weekend as the Lowcountry sits on the fringes of Atlantic high pressure. The pattern is largely stagnant as evidenced by the copy & paste temperatures for the next few days: lows in the low to mid-70s, highs in the upper 80s to near 90°.

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Thursday: One more warm and sunny day before unsettled conditions return

/ May 20, 2026 at 11:30 PM

After another day in the upper 80s on Wednesday — just missing 90° by a couple degrees at the airport — we should turn even a little warmer for Thursday with plenty of sunshine to be had. It’ll be a bit of a balmy day in general as lows in the upper 60s warm to the low 90s in the afternoon. Mid-60s dewpoints will keep the heat index in check, though it may feel a tick or two warmer than the air temperature.

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