After a prolonged period of below-normal temperatures (not that a lot of us are complaining, mind you), temperatures will begin to feel a little more like June at times this week as the series of cool high pressure wedges takes a little breather. The warming trend starts Monday, as highs top out in the mid-80s — still a little below normal, but much closer than we saw on Sunday with a high of only 75°. Skies will be partly cloudy to mostly sunny, another nice change from Sunday’s generally overcast disposition.
A cold front will move through the area early Sunday, which will cap highs in the low 80s — well below normal for early June in the Lowcountry. We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds as high pressure wedges in from the northeast, but rain is not expected with the drier airmass filtering in. It’ll be a little breezy — gusts 20-30 MPH will be possible out of the northeast, especially at the beaches and on elevated surfaces such as the bridges.
The main weather concern for Sunday revolves around coastal flooding. A water level over 8′ is expected once again with Sunday evening’s high tide, which peaks around 9:10 PM. This will produce major coastal flooding once again, closing numerous roads in downtown Charleston and potentially causing disruptions on barrier islands as well. This degree of flooding is extraordinarily rare for June, with only three major flooding events on record — once in 1982 and twice in 2009. Be ready to use alternate routes if you are out and about Sunday evening.
This weekend’s forecast is looking pretty good by 2023 standards, and will certainly be a far cry from what last weekend looked like. Saturday will be the warmer of the two days with highs topping out in the mid-80s in the afternoon. A few showers will be possible along the seabreeze, but those should be few and far between. A cold front moves by overnight Saturday into early Sunday morning, which will usher in some cooler and drier air that’ll keep highs capped around 80° in the afternoon under a mix of sun and clouds. Watch for some breezy conditions in the wake of the front on Sunday, with gusts near 30 MPH possible particularly on elevated surfaces and at the beaches.
