After very likely setting a new record low maximum temperature today with a high so far of just 53°, our cold snap continues into tonight and tomorrow. A Freeze Warning is in effect for the Tri-County tonight as temperatures are expected to dip below freezing for at least a little while particularly inland and in sheltered areas. The record low of 33° at the airport, set in 1962, certainly seems in jeopardy to fall. Even where temperatures don’t drop below freezing, there is some potential for frost. Wherever you are, protect plants and pets tonight!
Saturday afternoon should see high temperatures run about 9-10° warmer as the trough that brought us this cold snap moves well away from the area and the April sun angle is able to modify the airmass. We’ll keep high pressure firmly in place at the surface, and that should yield an exceptionally nice spring day with highs in the low 70s in the afternoon.
Beyond the weekend, temperatures will gradually warm to the low 80s by the middle of next week. We’ve got a pretty decent dry stretch ahead of us before our next storm risk arrives for next weekend. Enjoy, and stay warm!
Get ready for what is probably Winter’s final hurrah starting tonight into this weekend. Overnight tonight, temperatures look to fall to the mid-30s in the Charleston Metro Area, with the potential for those temperatures to fall even a bit more inland. I’d protect plants and pets tonight to be on the safe side. Wind chills tomorrow morning will run as low as the mid-20s at times — bone-chilling for January, somewhat absurd for April. In addition to possibly setting a record low in the morning (the record is 36° set in 1942), Friday’s forecast high of 54° would break the record low maximum temperature of 56° set in 2019. All this and we will have full, unfettered sunshine throughout the day. Quite a potently cold airmass, for sure.
The chill continues into Saturday morning. Winds look to back off a little bit, but that may just allow for better radiational cooling conditions with the potential for a freeze inland from the coast and patchy frost elsewhere. Friday night into Saturday morning will be another time to protect your plants and pets from the chilly conditions. Saturday afternoon does look a little warmer with highs getting into the low 60s, but this is still well below normal for early April.
By Sunday, though, we begin to lift out of the cold snap with lows in the low 40s in the morning, followed by highs getting back into the 70s in the afternoon. Just a few clouds will be around, and it looks to be a rather pleasant day.
It was a busy weather evening, with numerous reports of hail inland from the coast, a lot of lightning, and a lot of heavy rain. The storms will give way to a cold front swinging through overnight, and by Thursday morning, we will begin to see quite a cooldown. We’ll go from a high of 82° on Wednesday to highs struggling into the mid-60s for Thursday. (No fooling.) It’ll be breezy in the wake of the front, too. However, the sun will be out, and the early April sun angle will feel pretty good when balanced with the cooler air temperatures.
We’ll have a risk of some strong to severe thunderstorms later this afternoon into this evening as a sharp cold front swings through the area. We’ve had plenty of sunshine thus far, and that is certainly helping the atmosphere destabilize ahead of said front. Damaging wind gusts are the primary concern, but a tornado cannot be ruled out somewhere on the leading edge of the line as well. The greatest risk of severe weather generally lies along and west of 17-A as daytime heating and marine influences stabilize things closer to the coast, but severe storms will be possible pretty much anywhere in the Tri-County this evening; NWS is thinking between 6PM and midnight for our neck of the woods.
Stay close to reliable weather sources this afternoon and be ready to take action in case warnings are issued.
A cold front will approach the area from the west throughout the day Wednesday, with shower and thunderstorm chances increasing later in the day as the front gets closer. A couple showers or storms can’t be ruled out in the afternoon well ahead of it, but the best rain chances will start early in the evening through the overnight. One or two storms could turn strong with gusty winds and hail, especially for those of you who are further inland. However, widespread severe weather is not expected.
We’ll be at the apex of this week’s temperature rollercoaster with highs topping out around 80° in the afternoon. Afterward, it’s a much different story…
We’ll put scattered showers into the weather mix for tomorrow as a trough of low pressure sets up offshore, perhaps allowing a little rain to head up into our neck of the woods primarily in the morning to midday timeframe (with slight chances in the afternoon). Temperatures will warm into the lower 70s in the afternoon.
Tuesday night, a warm front will lift north of the area, which will prevent temperatures from falling much below the low 60s as we get into Wednesday morning. Highs will top out in the low 80s on Wednesday afternoon, with the risk of a few thunderstorms coming along for the ride as we are well into the warm sector of our next storm system. A couple strong to severe storms are not out of the question, either, so we’ll want to watch that potential. After the front gets through, the bottom falls out of the mercury, but at least the sun stays out into the weekend!
