After a couple cooler days, the 80s return to the Lowcountry starting Tuesday and lasting well into the beginning of April. High pressure remains the main weather feature, keeping us generally on the quiet side. A southerly breeze around 5-10 MPH will be common, especially as we get into the afternoon. Thankfully, some higher dewpoints will also continue to put a dent in the fire danger.

Our brief cooldown comes to an end to close out the work week, with sunshine and 80s returning to the Lowcountry on Thursday. The day starts in the low-to-mid-50s, so you might go for a light jacket to start, but you’ll be able to shed that by mid-morning as temperatures climb. Highs peaking around 80° run a few degrees above normal for late March. Winds are quiet to start the day but pick up a little as the seabreeze pushes inland later in the day.

Tuesday could be quite a shock to the system after Monday’s record warmth. We’ll go from a high of 90° on Monday, which was not only a daily record high but the fourth earliest 90° day on record, to a high in the low 60s on Tuesday with mostly cloudy skies in the wake of a cold front that is entering the Tri-County area as of this writing. No rain is expected, but we can expect breezy northeasterly winds as a cold air damming regime takes hold, at least briefly.

Another frosty start awaits for Thursday as temperatures fall to the upper 30s in the metro and a little lower across inland locations. Calmer winds and higher dewpoints will allow for frost formation overnight, particularly in Berkeley and Dorchester counties where a Frost Advisory is in effect through 9am. From there, it’ll feel much warmer than it did on Wednesday, with highs expected to peak some 10° warmer Thursday afternoon, generally in the mid-to-upper 60s. Cloud cover will be a bit variable, but generally expect a fair bit of sunshine throughout the day with no concerns for precipitation.

Thankfully, the atmosphere did not live up to its potential on Monday, leaving us to get some much-needed rain without any of the shenanigans that we thought might come with. The cold front is through now, and temperatures will be falling into the mid-30s overnight in the metro, with subfreezing temperatures expected further inland, perhaps in parts of Berkeley and Dorchester counties. Elsewhere, frost shouldn’t be much of a factor given elevated winds continuing overnight.

Temperatures will only peak in the mid-50s on Tuesday despite plenty of sunshine, owing to the potency of the cold airmass.

After a new daily record high of 89° was set at the airport on Wednesday, changes are forthcoming as we head into Thursday as a cold front approaches the area. We will start the day quite warm — record warm low temperatures are not out of the question — with lows in the mid-60s at coolest. Temperatures will then head into the mid-70s before a band of showers and thunderstorms approaches the area by mid-morning. Brief periods of heavy rain are possible, but storms will be moving quickly, so no concerns about too much rain in one location. Any rain we can get remains helpful as severe drought continues across the Lowcountry. There could be some thunder, too, and a few strong thunderstorm wind gusts can’t be totally ruled out as the line gets through.

The front will sweep the moisture and warm airmass offshore by evening, and temperatures will drop quickly into the 50s in its wake. If you are out and about Thursday evening, keeping a light jacket close by may not be the worst idea!

Showers return to the area on Thursday as energy aloft moves across the region ahead of a slow-moving cold front. The best chance for rain will arrive later in the day, and will stick with us into Friday. Temperatures Thursday start on a much more mild note — generally expect lows to fall to the low 50s in the morning, with highs peaking in the upper 60s in the afternoon.

Our cold snap continues Tuesday as lows bottom out in the mid-20s in the morning. Winds will remain a touch elevated with the lingering pressure gradient between the high to our west and the nor’easter pulling away from New England, so wind chills will be a factor, perhaps briefly dipping into the teens (but not long enough for a Cold Weather Advisory, per NWS). Temperatures will run a few degrees warmer than they did on Monday, but that’s not saying much as Monday’s high only peaked around 48°. We can at least expect another day of mostly sunny skies with the cool and dry airmass still in place. Temperatures turn back up starting Wednesday as a cold front approaches the area; we should be in the 70s again by Thursday, and shower chances return for Friday.

We’ll see more in the way of cloud cover and maybe even a few showers on Thursday, but that won’t stop temperatures from getting back to the mid-70s after a warm-for-February start in the mid-50s. Deep southwesterly flow will continue to pump warm and moist air into the area, and as temperatures warm into the 70s, this could spawn a few popup showers (not something we often say in February!) along with gusts around 20-25 MPH.

A warming trend kicks off Tuesday as high pressure moves overhead and eventually offshore. It’ll be quite a nice day after we start around 40° in the morning; temperatures will head well into the 60s by afternoon with plenty of sunshine to be had and comfortable relative humidity values. Winds won’t be quite as strong as they were on Monday, either, with speeds generally around 5 MPH. Winds will shift around to the southeast as high pressure slips into the Atlantic, a harbinger of warmer air to come.