Get ready for an unsettled and chilly Tuesday with rain and breezy northeast winds for much of the day. Rain could start as early as 1-2am, but will peak during the day with up to 1-1.5” possible in spots as low pressure moves northeastward parallel to the coast.
Chilly high pressure will remain wedged into the area through tomorrow, and the interaction between it and the low pressure system will help kick up northeasterly winds, especially at the coast. We could even see some minor salt water flooding with the 9:02am high tide as the wind could push the tidal anomaly close to 7’.
Elsewhere, this wind will make temperatures feel even cooler than they already will be, with wind chills in the 30s possible well into mid-morning. Winds notwithstanding, the forecast high of 51° may very well be optimistic especially given rain falling into the wedge, helping to reinforce the cold air dam across the area.
The good news is that our weather improves beginning Wednesday, and we’ll be on our way to a warming trend with much more sunshine heading into and beyond Christmas.
We’re turning much cooler for Tuesday as high pressure wedges into the area from the north in the wake of a cold front which will pass through overnight, perhaps bringing a few showers with it as it moves by. Southwest winds in the low levels will lift moisture over the high pressure wedge, producing ample cloud cover with occasional light showers possible throughout the day. This will act as a strong governor on temperatures, which may not break 60° in the afternoon.
We should see another round of minor coastal flooding around the 10:18 AM high tide Tuesday morning. Be ready for salt water on a few area roads, especially around Gadsden Creek (Fishburne/Hagood corridors near the Citadel and the Joe). Widespread coastal flood impacts are not expected.
After a foggy start, the temperature forecast could be a bit tricky on Sunday as we see how entrenched a wedge of high pressure from the north can get across the area. If the wedge can build in and hold up (additional cloud cover would help), temperatures may not get out of the 60s. If the wedge comes out on the weaker side and erodes a bit, there’s a chance we may once again reach the low to mid-70s in spots. Recent model guidance has trended back warmer from earlier today, but the wedge can sometimes be stronger than what guidance will depict. The good news is that the forecast remains rain-free regardless. Just be ready to make quick wardrobe adjustments if needed.
There will once again be a risk for shallow coastal flooding around the 8:26 AM high tide. Water levels should reach 7.3-7.5′ in the harbor, perhaps on the higher end of this depending on the extent and strength of northeasterly winds. Be ready for a few road closures in downtown Charleston tomorrow morning, but widespread problems are currently not expected.
Mostly sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures will reign once again today as we remain under the influence of high pressure centered over the Gulf. Westerly winds with a touch of a downslope component will help temperatures warm some 8-10° above normal for early December. Warm weather fans, rejoice! Cool weather fans…I’m sorry.
We hit 70° at the airport today for the first time since November 21, when we topped out at 75°. We’ll head north of 70° again on Thursday after starting the day in the low 40s in the metro (upper 30s further inland). Looks like we’ll top out in the low-to-mid 70s in the afternoon, with slightly cooler air at the immediate coast keeping temperatures in the upper 60s at the beaches. All in all, a fairly stellar December day (for our warm weather fans, anyway).
The 70s could continue all the way through next Monday before another frontal passage knocks temperatures back into the low 60s on Tuesday. Overall, the Climate Prediction Center outlook favors warmer-than-normal temperatures over the next couple weeks after what was a rather chilly November, tying 1940 for ninth-coolest November on record at the airport climate site with an average temperature of 54.1°. (Records began at the airport climate site in March of 1937.)
A freeze is expected overnight into Tuesday morning across much of the Lowcountry away from the immediate coast and near bodies of water. Make sure sensitive plants are covered and your pets are inside and warm!
Once we clear the chilly start, it’s going to turn out to be a really nice day across the area as highs head into the low 60s under brilliant, unfettered sunshine — a rare no weather worries day! Quiet weather continues for the next several days as a warming trend commences heading into the end of the week, in which the 70s will make a return.
The cherry on top? Tomorrow’s the last day of hurricane season — something we all can celebrate.
Sweater alert for Tuesday! We’ll start the day a little breezy and much cooler as a polar airmass takes residence in our neck of the woods. Air temperatures should bottom out in the mid to upper 30s away from the locally warmer coastline, but factor in the wind and it’ll feel closer to 30-32°. We’ll see predominantly sunny conditions throughout the day with just a few passing clouds at times in the afternoon; despite this, temperatures look to go no higher than the low 50s. Make sure your pets have a warm place to be tonight.
As we get into Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, winds will come down and allow radiational cooling to develop, which should be enough to get us our first freeze of the year in many spots (with widespread frost elsewhere). Lows look to bottom out from the mid-30s away from the immediate coast to possibly some upper 20s well inland. (Areas around Lake Moultrie should stay a touch warmer thanks to the influence from the warmer waters.) You’ll definitely want to make sure pets and plants have a warm place to be.
After one more frosty morning on Thanksgiving, temperatures will moderate back into the 60s in the afternoon, where we’ll stay for a couple days before a reinforcing shot of cooler air arrives in time for the weekend.
We’ve got one more mild day coming up for Thursday ahead of a cold front which will chill us out quite nicely on Friday and Saturday. Temperatures look to start about 10-13° warmer Thursday morning than they did on Wednesday, bottoming out in the mid-50s. There could be some patchy fog in the morning, so be alert on the commute for visibility drops. We’ll warm to the mid-to-upper 70s in the afternoon despite mostly cloudy skies — thank a little compressional heating and southwesterly winds ahead of the front for that. Moisture looks scant but a shower or two can’t totally be ruled out for a few of you; the NWS forecast has 10% probability of precipitation so if there is any measurable rain, it’s likely going to be very limited in scope.
After the front gets through, we have a couple days in the low-to-mid 60s coming up for Friday and Saturday before warming back to the low 70s on Sunday. Keep sweaters on standby for the first part of the weekend!
Tuesday is looking really, really nice with high pressure firmly in control of our weather. A dry atmosphere and plenty of sinking air will keep skies clear, and the airmass will modify just a touch to yield highs in the upper 60s to around 70° in the afternoon.
We may deal with some frost formation in the morning. A Frost Advisory is in effect for inland Berkeley and Dorchester counties. Cover up or bring in sensitive plants tonight into Tuesday morning. Other than that, though, no major weather concerns at all.
We’ll have our warmest and most humid day for another week or so on Thursday ahead of a cold front and sharp upper trough which should bring some showers into the area starting as early as the late afternoon through Friday morning. Temperatures for this Veterans Day will run a few degrees above normal thanks to southerly flow ahead of the front — expect mid-70s in the afternoon. Dewpoints in the 60s will certainly feel a little more humid than we’ve felt the past few days, too. Expect rainfall amounts to run generally on the light side, with a few spots possibly recording around a quarter-inch of rain on the high end.
One other good thing about the southerly to southwesterly flow that’s developing is that it should help put an end to this week of coastal flooding. The tide in the harbor reached 7.17′ this morning, allowing for some shallow salt water flooding to occur. It’s expected that tomorrow’s tides will stay below the 7′ threshold for the first time since this stretch of coastal flooding began November 3rd. (And good riddance, too.)
