We have a cool and quiet weekend ahead in the Lowcountry. Tonight’s rain will exit the area early Friday morning as a cold front swings through the area, but the storm system’s parent upper low will continue to lumber through North Carolina, potentially spawning scattered showers as the day goes on in our neck of the woods. Rain chances will decrease even further after sunset Friday, leading to a dry weekend.

Temperatures will remain cooler than January normals throughout the weekend, with mid-50s the norm as we sit between the departing low pressure system and high pressure in the upper Midwest. Relatively dry air will keep cloud cover generally thin, especially on Sunday.

Our next storm system arrives Monday as another upper low ushers through a front to start the week.

The first work week of 2021 will generally arrive with little weather fanfare, with temperatures at or slightly above early January normals for much of the week. Rain chances tick up Thursday into Friday as a storm system moves through, but quiet weather returns for the weekend.

Well, 2021 is definitely getting off to a muggy start. After tying the daily record high of 80° for January 1, we’ll start Saturday in the mid-60s — several degrees above the normal high temperature — as unusually muggy air persists ahead of a cold front. Expect showers and perhaps a thunderstorm or two to develop by afternoon, which will temper highs a bit (but not before reaching the low 70s). Some pockets of heavy rain are possible within stronger thunderstorms, but no severe weather is anticipated and the flood threat remains low. When all is said and done, some spots may have picked up 1-2″ of rainfall.

The front will get a move-on during the day, though, and by Sunday morning should be clearing the area, leaving behind quiet and generally pleasant January weather with slightly above-normal temperatures for the first work week of 2021.