A reasonably busy weekend of weather awaits in the Lowcountry as we deal with the south side of a massive and likely potent winter storm, the effects of which are starting to develop across Texas into the Midwest before spreading eastward during the day tomorrow into the Mid-South and eventually to the Eastern Seaboard.
For our part, a Winter Weather Advisory has been hoisted for inland Berkeley and Dorchester counties, with some freezing rain expected between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Elsewhere in the Charleston Tri-County area, we’ll deal with periods of cold rain as well as some windy conditions. Comparatively, though, this will be this storm on easy mode for a lot of us — some really treacherous conditions are likely to develop across the northern half of the state into NC. Read on to learn what’s most likely to happen in your neck of the woods.
After a high of 72° on Thursday, we’ll turn progressively cooler heading into the weekend as a large storm system affects much of the southern and Mid-Atlantic states over the next few days. Fortunately, the risk for accumulating ice continues to decrease into oblivion for much of the Charleston metro area.
Thursday looks like the nicest day we’ll have for a little while before the well-advertised winter storm system impacts the South, followed by a round of Arctic air to kick off next week. Temperatures Wednesday start in the low to mid-40s — a marked increase from the low of 26° at the airport this morning — before warming to the upper 60s to perhaps even around 70° under mostly sunny skies. Enjoy this — as mentioned, things will start getting stormy and chilly by Saturday.
Temperatures will warm up for the second half of the week ahead of what is shaping up to be a rather messy weekend, with the risk for winter weather increasing especially away from the coast.
Chilly mornings will continue through Wednesday as another reinforcing shot of cool air moves in overnight Monday into Tuesday. We’ll start Tuesday back in the mid-to-upper 20s, but northwesterly winds around 5 MPH or so could make it feel closer to 20°, so be sure to layer appropriately heading out to work or school. Temperatures will only make it to the low 50s as the influx of cool air continues throughout the day. Expect a scattering of clouds, but still plenty of sunshine.
After some much-needed rain on Sunday, we get into a stretch of a few quiet but chilly days beginning on Monday. We’ll start Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the mid-to-upper 20s across much of the metro away from the immediate coastline. There’s a slight chance for a little black ice in more sheltered and rural areas in the morning, but the vast majority of us will be okay as drier air with elevated winds should evaporate much, if not all, of today’s rain before things freeze. Temperatures will head into the low 50s with plenty of sunshine.
Topsy-turvy temperatures will feature prominently this weekend as a decently strong cold front comes through on Sunday. Ahead of that front, Saturday temperatures will warm from the mid-30s in the morning to the mid-60s in the afternoon as warmer air pumps in from the south and southwest. We’ll see clouds on the increase as the day goes on with the approaching front and a strong trough of low pressure that’ll help drive that front through and bring some much-needed rain for Sunday.
A lot has been made of the risk for winter weather on Sunday, but the ultimate outcome looks to be mostly rain for the Charleston metro area, with some flakes likely mixing in the further west toward I-95 you go. The front itself gets through early in the day, with the precipitation developing behind it as the trough of low pressure swings through. While it will stay mostly rain near the coast, a few flakes could mix in along and west of 17-A. However, accumulating snow, if snow falls at all, is not expected given surface temperatures in the upper 30s to mid-40s. Travel issues beyond the elevated risk of distracted driving at the sight of novelty snowflakes are not expected.
