High pressure wedging in from the northeast made for a much cooler day on Wednesday — the high only reached 77°, the coolest high since 76° on May 31 — and we’ll keep that going into Thursday. Winds kick up a bit more Thursday as low pressure begins to spin up offshore, tightening the pressure gradient across the area. There could be some showers within the wedge at any point during the day, but nothing too out of control by any stretch. The main hazards will be a risk for coastal flooding at times of high tide. The 6:40am high tide could touch 7′ MLLW, producing some minor flooding in the most vulnerable locations. The evening high tide, which peaks around 7:10 PM, will run more than a half-foot higher, with moderate coastal flooding expected. Be ready for road closures downtown during the second half of the commute.

Summer is far from finished with us yet. After a couple days with relatively drier air and slightly cooler temperatures, we’re back to the 90s on Friday as surface winds swing around a little more westerly than we’ve seen the past few days. It should be a mostly sunny day, though clouds will increase later in the day with the potential for a shower or two to potentially migrate in from the north late. At least we get off to one more seasonable start as lows take one more trip to the mid-60s before a stretch of 70s lows kicks off Saturday.

Another warm mid-September day lies ahead for Thursday as high pressure remains the dominant weather feature at the surface and aloft. We’ll get off to another pleasant start with lows in the upper 60s warming to the upper 80s in the afternoon with dewpoints in the mid-to-upper 60s away from the coast, where dewpoints will settle in the 70-72° range. Dry air in the atmospheric column will make for mostly sunny skies, with just a few passing clouds expected.

A cold front will stall out to our north, keeping warm and muggy conditions in place with disturbances bringing about showers and thunderstorms each day, especially Saturday.

Late-summer heat and humidity continues to build as temperatures look to return to the 90s for Thursday after a balmy start in the mid-70s. We should see a bit more in the way of afternoon showers and thunderstorms on the seabreeze with high pressure beginning to weaken, though not everyone will see rain, either. A few pockets of heavy rain will be possible with moderate instability and precipitable water values (generally the amount of water you could wring out of a column of air) a little over 2″.

There may be one more round of salt water flooding with Thursday evening’s high tide around 8:18 PM, but it’ll be on the minor side with water levels peaking in the 7-7.2′ range. Rain shouldn’t be an issue as the seabreeze will be well inland by that point, though. From here, we should see diminishing astronomical influences and less of a chance for coastal flooding, though there remains an outside shot on Friday coincident with the full moon.

Summer won’t loosen its grip just yet, especially as we head into Friday and Saturday as a front approaches the area, sending air temperatures back to the mid-90s and heat indices close to heat advisory territory.

Thursday looks to generally be a repeat of Wednesday (weather-wise, anyway). We’ll start the day in the mid-70s once again, warming to the low 90s in the afternoon. Mid-70s dewpoints will help drive the heat index into the upper 90s to around 100° — not quite August, but getting long in the tooth. The day should be primarily quiet with partly cloudy skies expected, though like we saw roll through Moncks Corner on Wednesday, a stray shower can’t be totally ruled out.

A front at the surface and a trough of low pressure aloft will keep things on the unsettled side heading into Friday and the weekend, with the potential for heavy rain especially Friday and Saturday.

Thursday’s weather setup will be similar to what we saw on Wednesday with scattered to numerous thunderstorms affecting some spots while the sun peeks out elsewhere. Temperatures will start in the low to mid-70s once again, warming to around 90° in the afternoon — just a smidge above normal for late August. The severe weather risk is low, but once again, a storm or two could produce gusty winds. There is also the risk for flooding given slow storm motions and potential training of rain across the same spots, so stay alert as you get out and about tomorrow.

The hot pattern we have been stuck in for the better part of a week and a half finally begins to break down starting Friday, helping to temper some of the extreme heat that we’ve experienced while also allowing for more showers and thunderstorms, particularly Friday and Saturday.