Friday is looking a little warmer but should remain rain-free as high pressure remains the main weather driver for at least one more day. Temperatures start in the upper 60s, warming to the mid-to-upper 80s in the afternoon under partly cloudy skies. An uptick in cloud cover and maybe a stray shower or two could accompany the seabreeze in the afternoon, but guidance keeps the majority of the area dry.
Shower and thunderstorm chances kick up a little bit for the weekend, though the trend has been a bit drier overall as high pressure to the north keeps the better rain chances further south. Still, waves of low pressure should at least kick up scattered coverage across the area especially in the afternoons, but it doesn’t look like a washout, and it will be a far, far cry from last weekend’s deluge. Temperatures will continue to run below normal; expect highs in the mid-80s each afternoon after starting each day in the upper 60s. It won’t feel much like summer as we unofficially bring it to a close, but it should still at least feel fairly pleasant when storms aren’t around.
Another nice day lies ahead on Thursday, with a nice start in the upper 60s warming to the mid-80s in the afternoon. We should see a little uptick in cloud cover with a little higher-dewpoint air infiltrating in, but the forecast is largely rain-free. So, it’ll be another nice day to get out and about if you’ve got some time.
Friday and the weekend will be on the unsettled side as a front stalls out nearby. Waves of low pressure developing along the front will help to tap into resurgent tropical moisture, and given how soggy it’s been this month, it won’t take terribly much for flooding to develop. Thus, a Flood Watch will go into effect at 8am Friday, lasting into late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. We’ll want to pay close attention around the evening high tides on Friday and Saturday, as water levels in Charleston Harbor will remain elevated in the wake of Hurricane Erin. Salt water flooding looks like a good bet, and any heavy rain on top of that would cause widespread issues in downtown Charleston. Keep an ear out for flood alerts from the National Weather Service, especially for Flash Flood Warnings, as they may become necessary over the next few days.
The upside to this is that temperatures will run below normal. Highs on Friday should only top out in the mid-80s, while Saturday’s high may only climb to the low 80s. We’ll warm up a little on Sunday as the periods of heavy rain should taper off, but highs in the mid-80s still run a few clicks below the normal high of 89° this time of year.
Thursday will be another warm day across the Lowcountry, with lows in the mid-70s warming to the low-to-mid-90s in the afternoon. Heat indices will run in the upper 90s to perhaps 100° in spots under generally partly cloudy skies. We should start to see cloud cover begin to thicken a bit as we get into the afternoon and evening hours, though, with rain chances increasing as Hurricane Erin accelerates to the northeast and a cold front drives south into the area, stalling out as it gets to our south.
Another hot day is ahead Friday as heat indices once again climb well into the 100s under partly cloudy skies before thunderstorms develop along and ahead of the seabreeze in the afternoon. These will be generally scattered in nature — not everyone will see a storm, but those who do could get a quick round of heavy rain and gusty winds along with a good bit of lightning.
Better storm chances arrive on Saturday as a front sags south and eventually falls apart. Many of us should see a storm on Saturday, particularly in the afternoon, with plenty of triggers available for thunderstorm development. This should also help keep temperatures pinned to around 90° — still hot, but not as hot.
Lower dewpoints move in with northeast flow behind the front, giving us a little less humidity to deal with and slightly cooler temperatures as well. Ridging aloft will persist, allowing highs to get to around 90°, while a few showers and thunderstorms will be possible on the seabreeze each afternoon. We’ll keep this going into next week, too.
Thursday will be a fairly typical mid-August day across the area. We’ll start in the mid-to-upper 70s, warming to around 90° in the afternoon with heat indices generally running in the low to mid-100s given continued dewpoints in the mid-to-upper-70s, highest downtown and along the coast with closer proximity to the water. Once again, showers and thunderstorms should fire on the seabreeze in the afternoon, and a couple of those could be on the strong side with frequent lightning and gusty winds. Winds out of the west will drive showers and storms coastward, so keep an eye on this if you’re taking a day at the beach (you lucky duck).
After an unusually cool and cloudy early-August day across the Lowcountry, in which highs largely did not breach 80° (good for a new record cool high temperature at North Charleston, breaking the record of 80° set just last year), we should see a bit more warmer air tomorrow as the high pressure wedge which reasserted itself today weakens a bit toward the coast. This will allow the seabreeze to get going a bit more, setting us up for an afternoon of scattered storms, with the best risk of precipitation generally east of 17-A. Lows in the low 70s will warm to the mid-80s in the afternoon — still several degrees below normal for this point in August — but it’ll still be somewhat muggy.
The end to the heat wave is in sight, but we have one more day to go before a front moves in from the north, replacing the oppressive heat with numerous showers and thunderstorms for the weekend. (Sorry.)
The heat wave rolls on into Thursday as we continue to sit between low pressure to the west and high pressure over the Atlantic, funneling warm and humid air into the area. We once again look to get off to a very warm and humid start with lows topping out in the upper 70s inland to low 80s near the coast. Temperatures will then warm to the low-to-mid-90s in the afternoon before showers and thunderstorms kick off, cooling some spots down. Daytime heating combined with mid-to-upper-70s dewpoints will drive heat indices to around 108-112° inland and approaching 116° closer to the coast. This has prompted an Extreme Heat Warning for Charleston and southern portions of Berkeley County (Hanahan, Daniel Island) along with an expansion of the heat advisory inland to the rest of Berkeley and Dorchester counties from 11am-8pm. Get plenty of hydration and be sure to take frequent breaks indoors or in the shade if you are working outdoors during the heat of the day!
Expect showers and storms to kick off in the noon-2pm timeframe. Slow-moving storms are again expected, with the potential for training of rainfall over some of the same areas, yielding some heavy rain and perhaps a few more flood advisories. Lightning will also be prevalent once again, so be ready to head inside if thunderstorms approach. It won’t rain all day at any one spot, though.
Anomalously strong high pressure builds in aloft starting Friday, bringing about the hottest weather of the year. We’ll challenge record high temperatures as well as record warm low temperatures, with heat advisories and even Extreme Heat Warnings a likelihood.
