One of the driest Aprils on record will come to a somewhat unsettled end this week as the pattern starts to finally flip toward something a little more favorable for rain chances. We’ll run a little cooler, too, especially as we start May.

The main weather story for the weekend will be a cold front that’ll move into the area later Saturday, which will help to bring about the first significant rain chance in weeks. A few short-lived seabreeze thunderstorms got close enough to produce a trace of rain at the airport today — the first non-zero rainfall recording at the airport since April 6 — but the unmeasurable sprinkles have kept April 2026’s rainfall total at 0.01″ as we head into the month’s final week, currently in a tie with 1972 for the driest April on record.

After one more mostly sunny and dry day Friday, the pattern finally turns a little more unsettled starting Saturday as a cold front advances toward the area. This front will help stir up some showers and maybe some thunderstorms later Saturday into Sunday. Rainfall amounts will generally be light — a quarter-inch may be awfully generous from this setup — but everything helps.

Temperatures Friday and Saturday run in the mid-to-upper 80s in the afternoons after starting in the upper 50s Friday and the low-to-mid-60s on Saturday. From there, a backdoor cold front looks to sink southward across the area on Sunday, which will take temperatures down a few degrees with highs in the low-to-mid-80s expected. With the exception of Monday, though, generally expect warmer-than-normal temperatures to close out April.

High pressure will remain in control on Thursday, keeping mostly sunny skies in place. It won’t be all sunshine, though, as smoke from nearby wildfires in Georgia drifts into the area, which could have negative impacts on air quality. An Air Quality Alert is in effect for the Lowcountry through Thursday evening as a result; people who have sensitivities to poor air quality should limit time outdoors. Temperatures will take another step up as southwesterly winds help pump in warmer air; expect lows in the mid-50s to warm to the mid-to-upper 80s in the afternoon.