The heat wave that brought July to a close has ended courtesy of an incoming front, which will help cool things off (finally!) this weekend as the front moves through early Saturday. However, that comes at the cost of the risk for numerous showers and thunderstorms that could produce flooding rains. The risk will continue to increase as Friday night wears on, and with the front stalling to the south, periods of showers and thunderstorms will continue over the weekend and over the next several days. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the heaviest rain will fall, but generally speaking, a few inches of rain should be fairly easy for many of us to come by. It won’t rain all the time, either, but when it does, be ready for it.

There is a low, but non-zero, severe weather risk Friday night that will diminish as we get into Saturday behind the front. Once the front is by, winds will go northeasterly, and despite the risk for thunderstorms, the air will turn a bit cooler and drier as dewpoints fall to around 70°. Saturday starts in the mid-70s, but with the influence of the front and storms in the vicinity, highs only peak in the mid-80s. Sunday starts even cooler, with lows in the low 70s warming to the low 80s in the afternoon. We look to stay in the 80s for a few days as the front lingers to our south, too, so despite the rain, at least we won’t be dealing with the dangerous heat of the past week-plus, which helped propel July into the fourth warmest on record at the airport climate site in North Charleston. (Records for that site go back to 1937.)

The end to the heat wave is in sight, but we have one more day to go before a front moves in from the north, replacing the oppressive heat with numerous showers and thunderstorms for the weekend. (Sorry.)

The heat wave rolls on into Thursday as we continue to sit between low pressure to the west and high pressure over the Atlantic, funneling warm and humid air into the area. We once again look to get off to a very warm and humid start with lows topping out in the upper 70s inland to low 80s near the coast. Temperatures will then warm to the low-to-mid-90s in the afternoon before showers and thunderstorms kick off, cooling some spots down. Daytime heating combined with mid-to-upper-70s dewpoints will drive heat indices to around 108-112° inland and approaching 116° closer to the coast. This has prompted an Extreme Heat Warning for Charleston and southern portions of Berkeley County (Hanahan, Daniel Island) along with an expansion of the heat advisory inland to the rest of Berkeley and Dorchester counties from 11am-8pm. Get plenty of hydration and be sure to take frequent breaks indoors or in the shade if you are working outdoors during the heat of the day!

Expect showers and storms to kick off in the noon-2pm timeframe. Slow-moving storms are again expected, with the potential for training of rainfall over some of the same areas, yielding some heavy rain and perhaps a few more flood advisories. Lightning will also be prevalent once again, so be ready to head inside if thunderstorms approach. It won’t rain all day at any one spot, though.