Temperatures reminiscent of November rather than mid-October continue on Thursday despite unfettered sunshine. We’ll start the day in the low 40s in the metro, with some upper 30s possible further inland. The wind chill will feel closer to the mid-to-upper 30s, so once again, layers are a good idea tomorrow morning. Temperatures head to the mid-60s in the afternoon, so keeping some sort of long sleeves around for when you’re not in sunlight is a smart play. Northerly winds will once again be breezy, generally 10-15 MPH in the afternoon with higher gusts.
We’ll also need to watch for minor coastal flooding during the Thursday morning commute. Water levels are expected to peak around 7.1-7.3′ with the 8:13 AM high tide. The more northerly component of wind will minimize coastal flood impacts a little, but we can still expect a few road closures in the more vulnerable locations of downtown Charleston. Be ready to reroute.
A reinforcing cold front will swing through overnight tonight, ushering in the coldest air so far this season. We’ll start the day in the low 50s, but gusty north winds will cause temperatures to struggle to the low 60s despite increasing sunshine as clouds from the frontal passage dissipate. This certainly qualifies for sweater weather in our neck of the woods — have the warm clothes at the ready!
Thursday morning will be the coldest of the set as the cool air continues to push into the area, though winds will diminish a little. Temperatures in much of the metro could dip into the upper 30s to around 40° — quite possibly the coldest morning since February 22, when it was 37°. The wind chill will be a factor (pun somewhat intended), and could make it feel close to freezing. A couple layers aren’t the worst idea heading out the door in the morning. Despite full sunshine, temperatures will still only recover to the mid-60s at best in the afternoon. This is well below normal for this point in the year (think upper 70s), and may flirt with record cold high temperatures as well (62° set in 1970).
Temperatures start to bend back toward climatology on Friday, though. We’ll start the day in the mid-40s as a bit more of an onshore component to the wind develops, heading to about 70° in the afternoon under sunny skies once again. As we get into the weekend, temperatures will continue to run a bit below normal, but mid-70s will mean short sleeves are back on the menu. With plenty of sunshine, it’ll be a solid weekend of San Diego-like weather (if you know, you know).
Tuesday’s temperatures, despite plenty of sunshine, will run a little below normal for this point in October. We start the day in the low 50s, warming to the mid-70s in the afternoon. Clouds will be hard to come by, though they should begin to increase after midnight. That being said, it should be another solid evening of stargazing in the western sky as Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS continues to appear in the night sky after sunset.
We’re back on the temperature rollercoaster this week as a front moves by on Tuesday, which will usher in the coolest airmass thus far this season for mid-week. (Certainly a far cry from watching another tropical system, that’s for sure.)
First, though, we have one more day in the 80s before the front gets through. It’ll be the warmest day of the week, starting around 60° and warming to the mid-80s in the afternoon. We’ll get within spitting distance of the record high of 88° set in 1943 and 1990, but we should stay below that mark. Much like Sunday, expect another day of unfettered sunshine on Monday.
The front moves by Tuesday with a little more in the way of cloud cover but little else. That will cool highs off to the mid-70s, roughly 10° or so cooler than Monday. We really feel the cooler airmass on Wednesday, though, as temperatures fall to the upper 40s in the morning, only reaching the mid-60s in the afternoon. Thursday runs even cooler in the morning, with mid-40s reaching back to the mid-60s once again. No rain’s expected with this frontal passage, and we’ll see primarily sunshine more than anything else.
After one more start in the mid-40s, a warming trend commences Friday as highs climb back to the low 70s. Saturday will run a little warmer, with highs in the mid-70s, and we’ll run even a click warmer on Sunday as well, with plenty of sunshine throughout.
