We’re back in the 80s starting today as much warmer-than-normal temperatures continue across the Lowcountry. We may once again threaten record highs over the next few days with temperatures topping out in the low to mid-80s each day through Friday. Lows in the mid-60s most days (except for Wednesday, the result of a weak front) will also challenge record high minimum temperatures across the region — indeed, this remains unusually warm weather for this point in the year and The Pollening should, unfortunately, continue apace.

Changes are coming later this week for the weekend, though. A strong cold front looks to approach the area Thursday into Friday, which will shift the airmass more substantially and get temperatures back within striking distance of early March normals. This will come with the risk for strong to severe thunderstorms on Friday afternoon, with strong winds expected even outside of thunderstorms. We’ll want to watch this closely for later this week, but there’s still model difference right now in the exact track of the storm system. Stay tuned.

Regardless of what pans out with the severe weather threat, we’ll have a much more seasonable — but still warmer-than-normal — weekend ahead with highs topping out in the low 70s Saturday and the upper 60s on Sunday. Lows will fall back to earth as well, with the first lows in the 40s since February 20 in the forecast. The good news in all this is that we should see plenty of sunshine this weekend to go along with the more comfortable temperatures. (Just take some precautions against the pollen if you are sensitive to it.)

Our recent string of record warmth, punctuated by a high of 86° today that breaks last year’s record of 84°, takes a pause this weekend as a backdoor cold front stalls out near the area. Showers filling in tonight will peak overnight as low pressure develops along the coast. As this low pressure pulls away during the day Saturday, so will the chance for rain. Bottom line for precipitation: Keep rain gear handy, but you may not end up needing it. Cloud cover and high pressure wedging in from the north will keep temperatures well below where they have been recently, but still above normal, peaking in the low 70s.

Said front lifts back north of the area on Sunday, bringing in a little more in the way of sunshine and warming temperatures back into the mid-70s. This is roughly 10° above normal for this point in the year, but the record books will remain intact as the record high of 83° set in 1996 looks to remain safe. By Monday, we should be back into the 80s as ridging re-establishes itself aloft.

Our warm spell peaks on Thursday on the heels of a second consecutive day where we’ve at least tied the record high. Temperatures will soar into the mid-80s, getting within striking distance of the record high of 86° set just last year. We’ll see a few more clouds ahead of an approaching backdoor cold front, but we look to remain rain-free for one more day.

After setting a new record high on Tuesday (83°, breaking the record of 82° last set in 2019), we’ll take another shot at the record books on Wednesday as highs look to once again top out in the lower 80s. The NWS forecast explicitly ties the record high of 82° last set in 2018, and it’s certainly plausible we’ll break that record.

Thursday will represent the peak of the warmth before a cold front gets closer on Friday. The record high of 86° on Thursday, while not explicitly forecast to be broken, will still be well within striking distance and has a chance to fall. Friday’s high of 82° will also be in range of the record high of 84°, though that record may be a little tougher to realize with increasing cloud cover ahead of a cold front that will cool things down markedly for Saturday (and bring some rain chances, as well). That cooldown will be short-lived, though, as we head back well above normal for Sunday and beyond.

After highs topped out around 78° today, we’ll once again challenge (and likely reach) 80° for the third time so far in 2023 on Tuesday as high pressure continues to build across the area. We’ll be in a mix of clouds and sun throughout the day with perhaps a shower or two later in the day/early evening as some upper-level energy glances the area.

The record high for Tuesday is 82°, first set in 1991 and then tied in 2019. We will get within striking distance, especially if cloud cover thins out a bit more. It’s also worth noting that the forecast low temperature of 60° is only five degrees below the normal high for this point in the year, and is just one degree below the record high minimum temperature of 61° set in 1989.

High pressure at the surface and aloft will keep very warm temperatures in the forecast for much of the week with no rain to show for it as strong subtropical ridging more characteristic of late spring/summer builds across the area. Put another way: It’s a scary week to be a record high at the North Charleston climate site.

The bad news is that we’re going to see some rain on Friday (probably midday through mid-afternoon). The good news is that it will be short-lived, and that we will have a rain-free weekend for the first time since the first weekend of 2023!

Temperatures topped out close to 80° today in the Lowcountry, and we should meet or even slightly exceed that for Thursday despite a little more cloud cover ahead of Friday’s cold front. We start the day quite mild for mid-February (mid-50s) before soaring to around 80° in the afternoon. Certainly a short-sleeve day for a majority of the day; you’ll shed that light jacket quite early on, methinks.

After reaching a lovely 70° on Valentine’s Day, we will climb even higher into the 70s for Wednesday as southerly flow on the back side of high pressure and ridging aloft turns the heat pump up. We’ll see a little more in the way of cloud cover, but still expect plenty of sunshine.

Thursday turns even warmer as a cold front gets closer and compressional heating starts to come into play a bit more. Expect highs to top out in the low 80s with a mix of sun and clouds. Incredibly, this will not even be close to a record — the record high of 87°, set in 1989, looks to remain solidly intact.

Rain returns to the weather picture on Friday, though unlike the last few weeks, it won’t hang around for the weekend. Expect highs to top out early in the day around 72° before the front and its associated showers arrive in the area. Said front cools us off below normal for Saturday before a little rebound in temperatures for Sunday, but the operative thing here is that the sun will be out for both days this time — quite a rare occurrence lately.

Mother Nature’s Valentine’s Day gift to Charleston is beautiful weather as high pressure remains in control. We’ll start Tuesday in the low 40s before temperatures rebound to around 70° under mostly sunny skies. Dewpoints will run in the low-to-mid-40s, yielding comfortable relative humidity values — overall, should be a nice day to enjoy some lunch outdoors. The only fly in the ointment may be the winds shifting to the south around 10-15 MPH at times. Other than that, though, no cold shoulder this year.

We turn much warmer Wednesday into Thursday as southerly winds continue ahead of a cold front which arrives Friday. Temperatures will jump to around 80° on Wednesday and could exceed 80° on Thursday despite increasing cloud cover. While we could get within striking distance of Wednesday’s record high of 82° set in 1989, we’ll be a far cry from Thursday’s daily record which is 87°, also set in 1989.

A cold front and associated band of showers moves through the area on Friday, limiting highs to the low 70s early in the day and cooling us off pretty quickly in the evening. The good news is that this rain won’t linger — the sun will be back out on Saturday, and a rain-free (albeit much cooler) weekend is expected.