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Tag: daily forecast

Tuesday: Oh, there’s June

/ June 5, 2023 at 9:15 PM

June makes a triumphant return on Tuesday as high pressure slips offshore and winds go southwesterly, transporting more warm and humid air into the area. Temperatures should reach 90° after a mid-60s start under partly cloudy skies. We should see a few isolated storms pop up in the afternoon as the seabreeze makes its inland trek. A strong pulse storm with gusty winds and maybe even a little hail can’t be totally ruled out given decent instability; this will be most likely near outflow boundary collisions.

There will be a risk of some minor coastal flooding around the 10:58 PM high tide, but the westerly component to the wind will make this a much more limited threat compared to the past few days. Still, watch for some salt water around the Citadel and on Lockwood late Tuesday evening.

Sunday’s forecast: A little cooler with major coastal flooding possible in the evening

/ June 3, 2023 at 5:17 PM

A cold front will move through the area early Sunday, which will cap highs in the low 80s — well below normal for early June in the Lowcountry. We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds as high pressure wedges in from the northeast, but rain is not expected with the drier airmass filtering in. It’ll be a little breezy — gusts 20-30 MPH will be possible out of the northeast, especially at the beaches and on elevated surfaces such as the bridges.

The main weather concern for Sunday revolves around coastal flooding. A water level over 8′ is expected once again with Sunday evening’s high tide, which peaks around 9:10 PM. This will produce major coastal flooding once again, closing numerous roads in downtown Charleston and potentially causing disruptions on barrier islands as well. This degree of flooding is extraordinarily rare for June, with only three major flooding events on record — once in 1982 and twice in 2009. Be ready to use alternate routes if you are out and about Sunday evening.

Thursday: Mix of sun and clouds, below-normal temperatures to start climatological summer

/ May 31, 2023 at 11:12 PM

Thursday’s forecast is quiet and a little cool for this point in the year as we kick off climatological summer on June 1. Temperatures will generally run a couple degrees below normal on Thursday as cloud cover and a northeast breeze helps to keep things a little on the “cool” side. (Quotes around “cool” because it’ll still be warm and a little muggy, too.) As is customary for June, a shower can’t be totally discounted within this regime, but the vast majority of us get the day in rain-free.

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Tuesday: Temperatures near normal, stray PM thunderstorm possible

/ May 29, 2023 at 7:58 PM

After what’s turned out to be a really beautiful Memorial Day, we head back to work and school on Tuesday with similar, if not slightly warmer, weather expected. We’ll start the day a few degrees warmer — generally around the mid-60s — and highs should warm to the mid-80s in the afternoon. There’s a risk for a stray shower or thunderstorm in the later afternoon and early evening hours as the seabreeze gets rolling, but otherwise, the vast majority of us get Tuesday in rain-free as well.

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Memorial Day forecast: The sun returns, but a storm is possible in the afternoon

/ May 28, 2023 at 9:57 PM

The sun will make a return to our skies for Memorial Day as surface low pressure continues to move away from the area and westerly winds dry things out a bit. We start the day much cooler than normal, with lows bottoming out in the upper 50s. (The record low of 53° set in 1961 remains safe.) Sunshine and the aforementioned westerly winds should help highs top out in the low 80s — a couple ticks below normal as well, but certainly much more seasonable than the 60s and 70s of recent days. The only fly in the ointment may be a stray thunderstorm or two in the afternoon as the seabreeze moves inland. If the beach is in your Memorial Day plans, keep an eye out later in the afternoon as storm motions will be toward the coast. Otherwise, no concerns.

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Sunday’s forecast: Improvement begins

/ May 27, 2023 at 11:14 PM

We are through the worst of our experience with the coastal storm that has been bothering us for the better part of two days, and improvement will start to show itself on Sunday. We should see showers mostly shut down around daybreak or so, but I’m not sure a stray or two can be totally discounted throughout the day. We should start to see some breaks in the clouds, and by the evening, I suspect we’ll have at least some sunshine to close out the day. Temperatures will remain well below normal for this point in the year, topping out in the low 70s after starting the day around 60°.

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Friday & Memorial Day weekend: Unsettled as a coastal low affects the area

/ May 25, 2023 at 9:39 PM

Wet weather will kick off the Memorial Day weekend as a low pressure system rides up the coast and affects the Carolinas with heavy rain, gusty winds, rough surf, strong rip currents, and very hazardous marine conditions. It’s also going to be very unseasonably cool, at least to start — think highs in the 60s for Saturday. (Seriously.)

Friday will start in the upper 50s (the normal low for May 26 is 66°, for comparison) and only warm to the low 70s with cloud cover and increasing shower activity throughout the day. Winds will be breezy, coming in from the northeast around 20 MPH with higher gusts. The best chance for showers will begin in the evening hours and last well into Saturday as the low pressure system comes ashore somewhere between Charleston and Wilmington.

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Thursday: Showers begin late heading into a stormy first part of the holiday weekend

/ May 24, 2023 at 7:44 PM

We start to see a shift toward more unsettled weather beginning Thursday as low pressure begins to organize offshore, sending more moisture and some windy conditions our way. We start the day around 60° as high pressure remains wedged in place. We’ll get a fair bit of the day in rain-free as highs top out around 80° in the afternoon. As low pressure begins to organize offshore later Thursday, we’ll start to see a risk for a few evening showers.

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Tuesday: Cooler-than-normal conditions continue with perhaps a stray shower

/ May 22, 2023 at 9:02 PM

Cool high pressure remains in control for Tuesday bringing partly to mostly cloudy skies and highs well below mid-to-late-May normals. We’ll start the day in the low 60s before temperatures head to just about 80° in the afternoon — we’re normally looking at highs in the mid-80s at this point in the year. A stray shower could develop in the afternoon, but models show a pretty deep dry slot aloft that should preclude widespread precipitation.

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Sunday: Scattered showers and storms ahead of another front

/ May 20, 2023 at 10:05 PM

Sunday’s forecast brings unsettled weather back to the area as a cold front presses south into the region. We start the day on the mild side, with lows bottoming out in the upper 60s — a few clicks above normal still for this point in May. Highs top out in the low 80s before showers and thunderstorms begin to make inroads. Showers could spread into the area as early as mid-morning, though the more likely onset will be from midday into early afternoon. Evening high-resolution guidance, coming in as I write this, has been trending a little drier, with the bulk of the heavier rain across the Savannah River in Georgia where dewpoints pool ahead of the cold front, but a lot will depend on the speed of the front and how it coincides with some energy aloft. Still, be ready to turn outdoor plans into indoor plans on short notice, and watch for pockets of heavy rain at times, too.