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.
The weather this weekend looks fairly August-like — lows in the mid-70s, highs in the low 90s, with a chance for thunderstorms each afternoon, but no rainouts, either.
Moisture begins to return to the area Saturday as a front approaches and stalls out nearby. The front won’t be a huge contributor to storm chances, it looks like, with the seabreeze doing a bulk of the dirty work in the afternoon and evening hours. The moisture isn’t very deep, though, and that should limit storms to generally isolated to scattered coverage. Highs top out in the low-to-mid-90s; combine this with dewpoints heading into the low 70s, we should see heat indices around 100° for a time.
Trajectories turn more onshore for Sunday, which will act to keep a chance for scattered showers and storms in the forecast for much of the day, progressing inland with time. Widespread coverage isn’t expected, though, and it won’t rain all day at any one location. Highs top out in the low 90s with heat indices around 100-101°.
This might be the last real rain we see for a few days as an expansive ridge builds in across the area for the upcoming work week (and first week of school), which may send heat indices back over 105° across the area for a good chunk of each afternoon. It remains to be seen if heat advisory-level conditions return — stay tuned.
