So one thing you’ll notice out of the gate with Friday’s forecast is that it looks a lot less stormy. This is due to the batch of rain pushing through as of this writing on Thursday evening; once this is through in the early morning, we’ll be in a lull in the more widespread activity, it looks like. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms remain possible, though, particularly further inland. The atmosphere will be primed for some sporadic severe weather if storms can fire given sufficient instability and shear, with damaging winds and hail the main concerns. However, the if in the previous sentence is pretty loaded — some models show very little if any rain during the day Friday. We’ll want to wait and see, and I’ll encourage you to stay weather-aware in case storms threaten, but overall the forecast looks a lot less soggy than it has for a good bit of the week. Highs will top out in the low 80s after starting the day in the mid-60s.

We should get a fair bit of Thursday in rain-free, but changes will be coming later in the day as low pressure to the west approaches the area. We start one more morning in the upper 50s before a warm front gradually lifts through the area throughout the day, which will bring dewpoints up in the afternoon and put a little mugginess in the air. A shower or storm along the seabreeze in the afternoon and early evening can’t be totally discounted, but the bulk of the rain arrives after dark with the aforementioned low pressure and will be around for much of the overnight.

A cold front will move through this weekend, knocking temperatures down a peg but also bringing showers and a few thunderstorms into the area on Saturday.

One more predominantly sunny day is in store for Thursday as stacked high pressure remains in place across the Carolinas. We’ll start the day in the mid-50s, generally around normal for April 20, before warming into the mid-to-upper 80s in the afternoon, which is ten degrees above normal. Unfettered sunshine is expected once again, with very little, if any, in the way of cloud cover. It’ll be another great day to get outside for lunch or even a nice golden-hour dinner.

We’ll see some showers at times over the next few days, but there’s going to be ample amounts of good weather, too — crucial for this High Water Festival weekend.

Showers return to the forecast later Thursday as high pressure slips offshore ahead of a low advancing northward out of the Gulf. We start dry and should get a good bit of the day in without rain, though. After starting in the mid-50s, highs will top out in the upper 70s as cloud cover increases ahead of showers. Expect the onset of rain roughly mid to late afternoon into the evening hours. It’ll be off and on, but could be briefly heavy at times. A little thunder can’t be ruled out, either. The best rain chances come after dark and persist into Friday.

We’ve got one more warm day on Friday, but changes arrive in the evening as a cold front pushes southward across the area. Showers and maybe a thunderstorm will be possible ahead of the cold front (though no severe weather is expected) as said front moves by. Timing on the rain looks to be later in the afternoon into the evening hours. Highs will peak in the upper 70s and possibly touch 80° depending on when rain begins after starting in the mid-60s for one more day.

If you’re into highs in the 80s and rain-free weather, try to take advantage of Thursday because changes are in store heading into the weekend. We’ll start the day in the mid-60s, well above normal for this point in the year, before warming back into the mid-80s for the afternoon. (The record high of 90° set in 1967, thankfully, remains safe.)

Our warming trend continues Friday ahead of a cold front that’ll arrive here Saturday evening with a few showers and storms out ahead of it. (We still look okay for the Bridge Run, though.)

Calm winds and clear skies will allow temperatures to fall quite nicely tonight, with lows bottoming out in the low 40s across much of the metro area to start Thursday. (Thankfully, not low enough to deal with frost or freeze concerns.) Full sunshine will allow temperatures to warm nicely into the low 70s, making for what should be a rather pleasant day across the Lowcountry.