Alas, Friday and the weekend will bring us back to reality a little bit after a couple fairly nice days for late August. Highs on Friday top back out in the mid-90s under mostly sunny skies as ridging holds on tight for at least one more day, suppressing afternoon thunderstorm chances (and, as such, any chance for relief). Heat indices look to peak around 102° or so — not quite advisory level, but not exactly pumpkin spice weather, either.
Saturday will be even hotter, as air temperatures head up into the upper 90s. Combine this with solidly mid-70s dewpoints and that’ll yield heat indices approaching the heat advisory threshold of 110°. As ridging aloft begins to weaken, the seabreeze may have a slightly easier time popping a storm or two, though coverage will continue to be primarily isolated in nature.
Storm chances tick up fairly decently for Sunday afternoon and evening as a front approaches the area and a trough sets in aloft. It’ll still be hot — expect mid-90s highs before storms kick in — and heat indices could still head north of the 105° danger zone (but should remain shy of advisory thresholds). This will usher in a more active period heading into next week, with rain chances becoming more likely as the aforementioned front stalls and hangs around for a few days.
The air on Wednesday evening is fairly glorious — dewpoints in the mid-60s behind the seabreeze, with even some 50s dewpoints ahead of it — thanks to a cold front that pushed through earlier in the day. We’ll keep some of this dry air around for Thursday, which will keep the high of 92° feeling closer to 93-94°. We’ll see a few clouds across the area, but otherwise, it’ll be another reasonably pleasant late-August day.
After another very warm day Tuesday, a cold front will get through the area overnight and into early Wednesday, bringing an all-too-brief round of much drier air to the area. (A few showers are possible too.) We start the day in the mid-70s, but as the somewhat cooler and drier air moves in, we’ll find highs will top out generally in the upper 80s. Lower dewpoints, though, are what will make upper 80s to around 90° much more tolerable. We should see dewpoints mix down to the low 60s for the first time since June. Heat index won’t be a factor, and it should overall be a comparatively nice afternoon to do some things outside for a change.
Tuesday will be another rather warm day across the Lowcountry. After we topped out at 95° on Monday, temperatures should head a little higher on Tuesday, back into the mid-90s once again under partly cloudy skies. Peak heat indices will range from near 105° inland to around 108° closer to the coast where the higher-dewpoint air will be found. This is in the range where heat illness becomes an escalated concern, so be sure to take the normal heat precautions if you’re out and about Tuesday afternoon. Showers and thunderstorms are unlikely given ridging aloft, but a stray shower can never be totally ruled out.
We have a generally quiet week on tap as high pressure is the dominant weather player across the central and eastern US. It’s going to be warm, especially to start the week as dewpoints in the low-to-mid-70s combine with air temperatures in the mid-90s to yield heat indices around 102° on Monday and 105°+ on Tuesday under partly cloudy skies. A front might allow for a couple storms Wednesday before quiet weather resumes to close out the work week. It’ll be a little “cooler” and drier behind the front — dewpoints in the upper 60s to around 70° and air temperatures in the low 90s will still run above normal, but heat indices should remain in check as drier air mixes down and limits cloud cover. Isolated storm chances return Saturday afternoon, with a better chance of storms on Sunday as another front approaches the area.
Sunday’s forecast looks fairly similar to Saturday’s: We’ll start the day in the mid-70s and head toward around 90° in the afternoon under partly cloudy skies. Heat indices will top out around 100-101°, with perhaps locally higher values closer to the coast. A scattering of showers and thunderstorms will once again be possible as the seabreeze presses inland, with heavy rain a continued concern with decent low-level moisture still in place. Ridging developing aloft will keep a lid on widespread coverage of showers and storms.
