After a slightly cooler and more cloudy day courtesy of a backdoor cold front, temperatures will head back into the upper 70s on Friday as the aforementioned front washes out with high pressure moving offshore. We start the day in the mid-50s and perhaps with some fog. Cloud cover will gradually diminish as the day goes on, and we should have a pleasant close to the day as we head into the weekend.

Warm temperatures continue for Thursday, though a nearby front and some more cloud cover will likely preclude temperatures from getting too out of hand. Wednesday’s highs were close to records for the date: 82° at the airport was just a degree shy of the record of 83° set in 1942, while 80° downtown missed the record of 82° set there in 1958. Depending on where the front hangs up, we may yet make another run at records, but the preponderance of the evidence suggests that we’re going to stay in the mid-to-upper 70s on Thursday. The front won’t come with much moisture, so an uptick in cloud cover is about it.

The main weather story for the rest of the work week will be unseasonable warmth courtesy of a ridge building in aloft. Temperatures will run well above normal, with highs approaching 80° particularly Wednesday and Friday (and maybe Thursday, depending on the position of a cold front to the north).

After a near-normal day of temperatures on Monday, we’ll look for a similar performance on Tuesday. Temperatures will start in the mid-40s across much of the area (a little warmer near the coast, a little cooler further inland), and highs will peak around 70° in the afternoon with mostly sunny skies remaining the rule. Winds will be going more southerly during the day as surface high pressure begins to shift offshore. This will set us up for a few days of rather warm temperatures starting Wednesday.

After a cold front brings a brief cooldown to the area on Monday, temperatures return to the 70s on Tuesday before heading well above normal for the balance of the week ahead with little rain in sight.

After a brief cooldown on Friday, temperatures head back above normal for the weekend as high pressure remains the dominant weather feature across the area. We’ll see the high that’s overhead as of Friday evening slip southward, sending wind directions a little more westerly to southwesterly, kicking temperatures back into the low-to-mid-70s on Saturday. Compressional heating ahead of an advancing cold front will send highs on Sunday solidly into the mid-70s after a warmer start in the mid-50s. This frontal passage once again looks dry thanks to a dearth of moisture; in fact, rain chances remain slim well into next week.

Quiet weather continues for Friday and the weekend as reinforcing high pressure arrives overnight. Friday will feel a touch cooler than Thursday did, with winds going back around to the north in the wake of a dry cold front. Lows Friday bottom out in the mid-40s, with highs peaking in the upper 60s in the afternoon under uninterrupted sunshine.

Record lows were tied both at North Charleston as well as Downtown Charleston Tuesday morning as a potent shot of Arctic air swung through the area. The low at the airport fell to 29°, tying the record first set in 1943, while Downtown fell to 32°, tying the record low first set in 1913. A record cold high temperature appears to have been set as well at the airport, with the high only reaching 49° for the day, breaking the record of 54° set in 1968. Downtown also only peaked at 49°, but the record cold high temperature of 46°, set in 1913, remains safe. The freezing temperatures put an end to the growing season, which means that there will be no more Frost and Freeze products from the National Weather Service until the season resumes in March.

The good news is that a warming trend begins Wednesday. Temperatures will bottom out around or below freezing further inland, but should only drop to about the mid-30s closer to the coast and in the metro area. Temperatures will rebound quite nicely under full sunshine, with highs peaking in the mid-60s in the afternoon. This is still a little off the normal high for this point in November, but only by about 5-6° as opposed to 22°! The warming trend continues Thursday into Friday as the airmass continues to moderate under high pressure, with just a few clouds from time to time. Overall, there continues to be no major weather concern this week now that we have last night’s freeze behind us.

A highly anomalous Arctic intrusion is arriving this evening, evidenced by gusty winds 25-30 MPH and plummeting dewpoints across much of the area as of 7PM Monday. Further north, some flurries were reported in the Charlotte metro area and as far south as Hartsville, SC. Here at home, the first freeze of the season will occur for the vast majority of us; ensure pets and plants are protected and safe tonight as temperatures will fall into the 20s. Wind chills could drop into the upper teens, prompting a Cold Weather Advisory for Dorchester County. (Layer up!) Despite full sunshine, temperatures may not crack 50° in the afternoon, owing to the strength of the Arctic blast. If these forecasts verify, new record low and record cold high temperatures will be set at the airport: the record low for November 11 is 29°, set in 1943, while the record cold high temperature is 54°, set in 1968.