A warm front is lifting north across Georgia and South Carolina this evening, which will make for a warmer and more muggy day for Thursday ahead of a cold front. I’d anticipate that the forecast morning low of 57° will be set closer to midnight, followed by temperatures heading into the 60s by daybreak, topping out around 70° in the afternoon. Gusty winds will precede the front even outside of any thunderstorms — watch for gusts 30-35 MPH to potentially cause some havoc with Christmas decorations. We can expect a few showers and maybe even a thunderstorm or two overnight into the morning ahead of the main frontal band.

The timing of the front and the extent of morning shower activity will act as a governor on any severe weather threat that could develop. Shear looks good, but instability is the question mark. Still, a few storms with gusty straight-line winds are possible, and there’s even the risk for a few of these storms to rotate. Keep an eye on the weather Thursday, particularly mid-morning through early afternoon, for any possible watches or warnings that might need to be issued.

We should be rid of the rain by evening — some of the faster guidance coming in this evening even has it out of here by mid-afternoon, with some sunshine breaking out before the day’s over — with temperatures falling into the 50s by 8 PM as cooler and drier air moves in behind the cold front.

The main character in the weather story for the rest of the work week will be a potent storm system barreling across the eastern half of the country, bringing with it some showers, maybe some thunderstorms, and almost certainly some cooler air for Friday heading into the weekend.

We’ll find high pressure wedging back into the area on Tuesday as it passes to our north. Morning lows will bottom out in the mid-to-upper 30s across the metro, with mid-30s wind chills possible with the northeasterly wind. (You might want to bring pets and sensitive plants in tonight, just in case.) With little moisture in place, we’ll see mostly sunny skies, but the influx of cooler air will keep highs pinned to the mid-50s despite the sunshine — solid sweater weather if I do say so myself.

Aside from a couple days in the middle of the week where we will be a little warmer ahead of a storm system, below-normal temperatures will generally be more the rule than the exception, especially as we head into the weekend in the wake of the aforementioned storm system and its associated cold front.

Cold air damming will be the main weather driver this weekend as high pressure wedging in from the north will keep us chilly and mostly cloudy.

Saturday will be the more rain-free of the two weekend days as a little drier air aloft punches in between upper-level disturbances. Lingering showers shut off around daybreak, and we could see some breaks in the cloud cover from time to time, but overall, mostly cloudy skies will be the rule as temperatures struggle into the upper 50s.

Expect similar conditions for Sunday as the wedge continues to hang on. Rain chances return by Sunday afternoon/early evening as the next disturbance moves atop the area. Temperatures will once again struggle to the upper 50s with the wedge in place, so the fleece-lined rain gear might feel pretty good.

Naturally, the weather will begin to improve on Monday…c’est la vie. But for now, it’s a good weekend to enjoy some good soup and maybe catch up on some TV or reading.

Alas: Gray days are here again for the weekend as a wedge of high pressure drives southward across the area on Friday. We’ll see a few showers push through the area Friday morning as the wedge settles in, then more moisture will move by in the afternoon to bring another round of generally light rain. Temperatures won’t move too much beyond the morning low of 61°, with highs only in the mid-60s anticipated as cooler air moves in throughout the day (and rainfall into the wedge helps reinforce said wedge).

We’ll have a lull in the rain on Saturday, but high temperatures will generally run below normal under mostly cloudy skies, with the air struggling to warm to 60° in the afternoon. Then, another round of showers will roll through Sunday. We should see the wedge erode on Sunday as another front approaches from the north, but the degree to which this happens during the day makes the temperature forecast interesting. For now, mid-60s are in the forecast for the Charleston metro, but don’t be surprised to see this revised lower with later updates. I also wouldn’t be surprised for temperatures to not make it out of the 50s further north into Berkeley County around the Francis Marion and Lake Moultrie. Stay tuned!