Charleston Weather Blog

Forecast explanations, atmospheric science, and other cool weather-related stuff for Charleston, SC

Friday & the weekend: Warm with occasional showers and maybe some thunder

/ at 5:45 PM

More warm and occasionally unsettled weather is on the way for Friday and the weekend. Lows will continue to run where January normal highs should be, and highs will still run well above normal, especially Friday and Saturday. In fact, Friday’s forecast high of 78° gets close to the record high of 80° set in 1950. The warm starts will lend themselves nicely to fog potential in the mornings, and sea fog may be persistent throughout the day as the warmer air overtops the much cooler waters.

Showers remain in the forecast as well as we stay within the warm sector of a stalled out frontal system. Friday could even feature a few thunderstorms, but severe weather is not anticipated. Saturday will once again feature a scattering of showers and maybe a rumble of thunder as well. A stronger front will push into the area on Sunday, pushing through later in the day to clear us out and cool us off. Showers and a few thunderstorms will be possible ahead of this front as well early in the day, but once the front is through — generally thinking early to mid-afternoon — the shower threat will end, cloud cover will decrease, and dewpoints will begin to fall.

Much more seasonable weather returns to the area starting Monday, with generally quiet conditions through at least Thursday.

Thursday’s forecast: Another unseasonably warm day with showers

/ January 24, 2024 at 8:06 PM

We hit 77° at the airport on Wednesday, narrowly missing a record high by two degrees (79°, set in 1950 and tied in 1974) and making this the warmest day so far in this young year. We have a chance to top that on Thursday despite showers working their way into the area as we stay within the broad warm sector of a storm system in the mid-South. We should start the day with some patchy fog as lows fall to the low 60s, right around the normal high for this point in the year. Temperatures will then warm to the upper 70s, and there’s a more-than-decent shot that some spots reach 80°. (The record high for January 25 is 82°, set in 1949.) A few showers will be possible across the area during the day, but coverage should be relatively sparse.

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Rest of the work week: Unseasonable warmth continues with some showers mixed in

/ January 23, 2024 at 7:01 PM

The warming trend continues Wednesday as a warm front lifts north of the area. Temperatures start in the mid-to-upper 50s owing to cloud cover blanketing us for much of the night. Once the warm front shifts ashore and winds go southeasterly, temperatures will respond further and head to the mid-70s. It’ll be kind of muggy, too, with dewpoints in the mid-60s expected behind the warm front. Scattered showers will remain possible throughout a fair bit of the day, though we should see more sun than we did Tuesday (not hard to do, tbh).

At a minimum, we’ll get the first part of Thursday in rain-free, if not the vast majority of it, before a front approaches the area and reintroduces shower and storm chances for Friday. Temperatures will peak Thursday, with lows in the low 60s and highs topping out around the mid-to-upper 70s. There will be a chance for a few showers late, but most of us should stay out of that until Friday, when shower coverage looks to increase with some thunder possible as well. Severe weather currently doesn’t appear to be a concern, though, as wind fields are largely unimpressive and instability appears meager. Temperatures on Friday will be tamped down a little by the shower activity, “only” reaching 75° after starting in the low 60s once again. We stay in the 70s on Saturday, but a second, stronger front will restore order to temperature chaos on Sunday, and by Monday, expect temperatures near normal with much more sunshine.