Thursday will be a much cooler day than Wednesday was across the Lowcountry, where most stations made it into the 70s at some point during the day, as an initial round of cooler and drier air infiltrates the area ahead of a reinforcing front which will really chill us out for Friday into the weekend. Dewpoints fall into the mid-40s throughout the night, allowing temperatures to drop generally into the low 50s to start Thursday. We’ll top out in the low-to-mid-60s in the afternoon — still a touch above normal — as clouds gradually start to break up along with the cold front’s passage.
After low pressure departs the area early Wednesday morning, that will be it for rain for 2023 as we’ll embark on a drying and (slow) clearing trend heading into New Year’s Weekend. Wednesday will probably be the last day we touch 70° this year as cooler and drier air starts to work into the area later in the day. We’ll see dewpoints fall first and then temperatures will follow as we get into the evening hours. This’ll yield a Thursday that starts 10° cooler (but still well above late December normals) and warms to about the mid-60s in the afternoon. We should see a bit more in the way of sunshine on Thursday, but clouds will remain a bit pesky until a stronger (but dry) front gets through late Thursday. We’ll wake up another 10° cooler on Friday, with lows in the upper 30s to around 40° yielding to highs just in the mid-50s as cooler air works into the area throughout the day. At least the sun will be out!
Wet weather continues overnight Christmas into Tuesday, as showers and thunderstorms with occasional patches of heavy rain continue to move through the area. Flooding will be a concern particularly in the morning as high tide around 7:15am, which should exceed flood stage in Charleston Harbor, could coincide with periods of heavy rain. This combination may produce more widespread flooding than a typical tidal event, making roads impassable and causing them to close. Be ready to route around flooded roads and for delays — perhaps significant — if downtown is in your travel plans Tuesday morning.
Showers and thunderstorms look to continue for a fair bit of Tuesday. We should start to see rain begin to scatter out as we head into the evening, though lingering showers will be possible overnight. Temperatures will be rather mild — the low of 60° is pretty close to the normal high for December 26. We’ll warm to the upper 60s, limited mostly by rain in the area.
Cloud cover will break up some on Wednesday as some drier air moves in. It’ll be another warm day, with lows in the upper 50s yielding to highs around 70° in the afternoon. Some cooler air begins to work into the area on Thursday as cloud cover ticks down, with highs running about 5° or so cooler than Wednesday. Then, a cold front later Thursday will usher in even cooler air, knocking Friday’s temperatures well below normal. Expect lows in the mid-30s to yield to highs only in the mid-50s in the afternoon despite mostly sunny skies.
