Our brush with Milton arrives on Thursday. The Tropical Storm Watch was dropped as tropical storm conditions are not expected on land (though a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coastal waters). However, that doesn’t change the forecast: It’ll still be a breezy day, with a Wind Advisory in effect for the area from 6 AM to 8 PM as the gradient between high pressure to the north and Milton to the south pinches and drives gusts upwards of 40 MPH across the area. Moderate to major coastal flooding is also expected during the afternoon, with some salt water flooding possibly persisting into early evening depending on how high the tidal departure ends up being. Right now, moderate flooding is forecast as the harbor should peak at 7.8′ MLLW with high tide just before 2 PM. This will close roads in downtown Charleston and parts of Mt. Pleasant, especially around Long Point Road. Be ready to reroute in case you encounter a flooded road.

The rain threat, however, is minimal. We may see a few showers sneak in from time to time, but we will miss out on Milton’s rainfall. In fact, we can expect skies to start to clear as we get further into the afternoon and evening. Temperatures will start in the low-to-mid-60s, warming to the mid-70s in the afternoon.

Clouds will increase on Wednesday as Hurricane Milton draws closer to landfall in Florida. We’ll see a decent northeasterly breeze during the day, but nothing unmanageable, and we’ll stay out of the rain, too. The day starts on a fairly cool note with lows in the low 60s, and we’ll warm to the upper 70s in the afternoon, tempered by the northeasterly winds and the increasing cloud cover. There will be a chance for some minor coastal flooding a couple hours around the 12:41 PM high tide, and a Coastal Flood Advisory is possible.

Quiet and warm weather continues Tuesday as we continue to monitor Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico for possible peripheral impacts on the Lowcountry as we get into Wednesday night and Thursday. Expect a comfortable start in the mid-60s on Tuesday, with temperatures warming to the low-to-mid-80s in the afternoon under partly cloudy skies (though clouds will be increasing as the day goes on). Northeast winds will generally run 10-15 MPH across the metro.