Our recent dry respite is about to come to an end as disturbances aloft interact with a surface front to keep things unsettled for a few days. The greatest coverage of storms will be on Friday as the most vigorous disturbance moves on by with the front sinking into the area. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected, and this will have the effect of suppressing highs into the mid-80s. Instability should be fairly weak, and the severe weather threat is low, but some heavy downpours will be possible which could lead to some areas of flooding.

Thursday should be generally quiet across the metro area for the vast majority of the day as dry air characterized by dewpoints in the mid-60s — about as good as it gets at this point in the year — hang around for one more day. Expect the day to start in the low 70s once again with highs warming to the upper 80s in the afternoon. Clouds will be on the increase throughout the day as a disturbance approaches, with a slight chance of showers after sunset, but again, the vast majority if not all of us get Thursday in rain-free.

After the fourth-warmest July on record at North Charleston, we catch a bit of a break from the high heat as we get over the hump into the rest of the work week as highs only look to get into the mid-to-upper 80s through Friday. The drier air will be quite noticeable especially Wednesday and Thursday mornings as lows look to dip into the low 70s. The drier air will also act to keep shower and thunderstorm chances to a minimum Wednesday and Thursday, with maybe a popup or two on the inland-moving seabreeze in the afternoons.

Rain chances head back up on Friday as high pressure weakens and moisture surges back into the area. We’ll likely see off and on showers and storms break out with just a little sunshine, continuing throughout the day. Some very heavy rain will be possible at times, and we’ll need to watch for the risk for flooding in a few spots with fairly slow storm motions expected.

Finally, onshore flow with the recent full moon will continue to drive tides into flood stage over the next couple nights. The water level peaked at 7.93′ at 8:48 PM on Tuesday evening, and water levels between 7.6-7.8′ look probable for Wednesday evening. Expect road closures downtown as a result. Keep an ear out for Coastal Flood Advisories from the National Weather Service.

The water level in Charleston Harbor peaked at 7.93’ at 8:48 PM and is now headed down. Several roads are closed downtown, including much of Hagood, parts of Lockwood, and even some blocked lanes on Calhoun.