Our late-July heat wave continues for the rest of the work week, but thankfully with some afternoon and evening thunderstorms to help take the edge off a bit.

The heat wave continues on Tuesday, but we will be getting past its peak as the high pressure ridge aloft continues to migrate westward, allowing for more shower and thunderstorm activity to develop in the afternoon. We’ll still be hot enough for a Heat Advisory, with low temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s yielding to highs in the mid-90s. Mix in mid-to-upper-70s dewpoints and you get heat indices topping out around 110° or so before showers and thunderstorms develop. Guidance generally keeps things dry through about 1-2 PM before numerous storms kick off generally away from the coast. Widespread severe weather isn’t expected, but a couple storms could produce some strong winds, and there will be a risk for flooding if storms train. Remember, every thunderstorm is dangerous because of the lightning it produces, so be sure to head indoors if a storm threatens your area.

The stalled front that brought us some flooding rains and severe weather on Tuesday lingers over the next couple days before high pressure nudges in, sending rain chances down and temperatures up for Friday.

Warm and muggy conditions with a few afternoon storms continue across the Lowcountry for the rest of the work week, as we do in mid-July. Generally speaking, every day will feature very, very warm starts in the upper 70s to around 80° near the coast, with highs in the low 90s each afternoon. Highs warm as we get further along in the week with high pressure building back into the area, and we’ll turn even warmer as we head into the weekend.

Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms each afternoon along and ahead of the seabreeze. As usual this time of year, storms will be of the pulse variety (pop up, mature, collapse) and won’t produce any organized severe weather. However, where outflow boundaries from collapsing storms collide, storms could briefly turn strong to severe, with wet microbursts the most likely mode of severe weather. Regardless of severity, all thunderstorms are dangerous due to the lightning they produce. When thunder roars, go indoors!

It’ll be another hot and humid July day across the Lowcountry on Tuesday as high pressure at the surface and aloft remain the predominant weather features, at least for one more day. The morning starts in the mid-70s inland to near 80° at the coast and downtown, warming to the mid-90s once again in the afternoon. Heat indices should rise in the 102-105° range, especially in the immediate wake of the seabreeze thanks to the dewpoint surge that typically accompanies it. We should see showers and thunderstorms fire along and ahead of the seabreeze by afternoon. Storms that fire could dump a good bit of rain in some spots in a short period of time thanks to the tropical airmass left behind by Chantal, so we will need to monitor for the potential for minor flooding in poor drainage areas. A stronger storm or two can never be ruled out this time of year, either, with gusty winds the main concern.

A cold front will draw nearer to the Lowcountry on Wednesday before stalling out, which will help kick up the risk for thunderstorms especially during the afternoon and evening hours. It won’t rain all day, but many of us should measure some rainfall as storms push across the area from west to east through late night. Temperatures in the mid-70s will warm to the upper 80s to around 90°. There’s a chance our 18-day streak of 90°+ highs will come to an end thanks to the proliferation of cloud cover, showers, and thunderstorms on Wednesday, but we will see. Regardless, expect a steamy and eventually stormy day across the metro; be ready for rain to cause some slowdowns.

Thursday is looking a little better, though some storms could linger midday. But drier air will be moving in, and we should see improving conditions by evening. It’ll be another warm day, with highs returning to the 90s in the afternoon after another mid-70s start.

The rest of the work week will turn increasingly stormy as a cold front encroaches on the area by midweek. A trough aloft will help drive the front close to the area — but not quite through — and contribute to an influx in lift and moisture that’ll bring us scattered to numerous thunderstorms, particularly on Wednesday.

After reaching 98° today at the airport and 95° downtown, another very hot day awaits for Wednesday as air temperatures should once again make a run for the upper 90s in the afternoon, with heat indices once again peaking in the mid-to-upper 100s.

We will need to keep an eye on the skies on Wednesday afternoon and evening, though, as several of the high-resolution models suggest some sort of thunderstorm complex will develop in southern North Carolina and move southwest through the afternoon and evening hours. Plenty of instability will be available, and there will be a risk for these thunderstorms to produce strong, damaging winds. NWS’s current thinking on timing for any severe storms would be from 6PM-midnight, with the best risk for severe weather inland of Highway 17. We’ll keep an eye on this throughout tomorrow and will update as needed.

A very hot Tuesday is in the offing as high pressure at the surface and aloft remain in place, allowing temperatures to head into the upper 90s to around 100° across the area away from the coast, where temperatures should peak in the low to mid-90s. Regardless of where you are, heat indices should peak around 108-109° as well, prompting a Heat Advisory for the Tri-County area — the first of 2025 — that’ll go from 1-8 PM. If you are working outdoors during that period in particular, be sure you’re getting plenty of fluids and taking frequent breaks in the shade or, preferably, an air-conditioned environment. Be very vigilant about any children or pets in the car, too — it doesn’t take very long at all for temperatures to become very dangerous in cars, and we don’t want any hot car deaths. Look before you lock!

If a high of 100° verifies at the airport, it would be the first time since May 29, 2019 (the Before Times!) that the temperature at the airport reached 100° or higher. Triple-digit heat isn’t expected east of 17, including in downtown Charleston and at the beaches, but the closer proximity to higher-dewpoint maritime air will still send heat indices into the danger zone despite the lower air temperatures.

Looking for thunderstorms to cool you off? I wouldn’t count on it, though a stray storm can never be fully ruled out this time of year.

The rest of the work week will remain quite warm, especially Wednesday and Thursday as less in the way of showers and thunderstorms are expected before a trough of low pressure and accompanying front swing through to stir up more storms for Friday.