Wet weather will continue on and off through early Friday before an outbreak of Arctic air brings much colder air and strong winds to the area for Christmas weekend.

The main character in the weather story for the rest of the work week will be a potent storm system barreling across the eastern half of the country, bringing with it some showers, maybe some thunderstorms, and almost certainly some cooler air for Friday heading into the weekend.

We’ll find high pressure wedging back into the area on Tuesday as it passes to our north. Morning lows will bottom out in the mid-to-upper 30s across the metro, with mid-30s wind chills possible with the northeasterly wind. (You might want to bring pets and sensitive plants in tonight, just in case.) With little moisture in place, we’ll see mostly sunny skies, but the influx of cooler air will keep highs pinned to the mid-50s despite the sunshine — solid sweater weather if I do say so myself.

Temperatures will generally run around 10° above normal for the remainder of the work week as ridging pokes in from the south and we await our next front, which will cool things back to normal for the weekend.

Wednesday should start with a fair amount of fog, perhaps dense fog, blanketing the area. Be ready for delays in your commute tomorrow morning, and be sure to allow extra time and patience to get where you’re going. The fog should mix out by mid-morning, and temperatures will head toward the mid-70s under partly cloudy skies as a result. Warm and rain-free conditions continue for Thursday into Friday, and another round of morning fog or two is probably not off the table, either. A front will get through later Friday, but it should pass with just a few showers at most. This will knock temperatures back into the 60s for the weekend with a mix of clouds and sun.

Follow my Charleston Weather updates on Mastodon, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, or directly in a feed reader. Do you like what you see here? Please consider supporting my independent, hype-averse weather journalism and become a supporter on Patreon for a broader look at all things #chswx!

Our next rain chance arrives tomorrow as a strong cold front moves through the area. Expect a band of showers and maybe a few rumbles of thunder to roll through the area roughly from sunrise to mid-afternoon. (Exact timing of these lines can be a bit of a challenge, hence the range.) While wind shear will be decent, instability will be sorely lacking, and so there’s very little concern for any severe weather from this system (unlike what folks in Louisiana and Mississippi have seen this evening). We won’t get a whole lot of rain this go-around, either — generally expect a tenth to a quarter-inch of rain, with slightly higher amounts around I-95 and points west. Temperatures will jump into the mid-70s early in the day with warm air pumping into the area ahead of the front.

Said front will lag the rain by a few hours, but it should get through around or after sunset Wednesday, yielding a much cooler day on Thursday. Expect highs in the upper 50s on Thursday despite almost full sunshine. It’ll be a little breezy, too, so you’ll want the hoodie or light jacket.

Temperatures rebound a little on Friday after starting in the low 40s. We’ll see highs top out in the mid-60s with a few more clouds in the area, but still plenty of sunshine and a little lighter winds to enjoy a nice Friday outdoor lunch. From there, the 70s return and hang around for a few days through the weekend into early next week — not exactly the most December-like way to start December, but that’s how things go around these parts.

Quiet weather continues for Tuesday before rain chances return for Wednesday as a cold front comes through. Temperatures on Tuesday start around normal in the mid-40s and will rebound nicely into the low 70s in the afternoon. Winds will be calmer, making that outdoor lunch a little easier, too. Overall, no complaints for Tuesday (weather-wise, anyway).

Here comes the warmest day of this week! A coastal trough will move inland during the day Tuesday, which will allow some warmer air to infiltrate the area from the Atlantic. It remains to be seen just how far inland this warmer air can penetrate; we could see some spots near I-95 run much cooler, possibly not getting out of the 50s.

Expect a scattering of showers in association with the aforementioned trough, but it won’t rain all day at any one location. A couple of the models want to bring some instability inland, but the thinking is that any thunder stays over the water. Aside from slick roads from the rain, not expecting much in the way of any hazards from tomorrow’s weather.

We have a busy few days of weather ahead of us as Tropical Storm Nicole makes landfall on Florida, perhaps as a hurricane, and then turns north and northeast to strafe the Carolinas with heavy rain, wind, and maybe even some severe weather.

Election Day will feature rain-free conditions, plenty of sunshine, and much cooler temperatures as high pressure to the north wedges into the area. This will definitely feel a lot different than the mugginess we’ve had for the past week-plus. You’ll want to keep a jacket around, too, as winds become gusty as the pressure gradient between the high building in from the north and Subtropical Storm Nicole to the south intensifies. Watch for gusts upwards of 25 MPH away from the coast, with gusts 30-35 MPH possible at the beaches.

The last total lunar eclipse of 2023 — and last one visible from the US until 2025 — will peak tomorrow morning just before 6am. The moon will be getting lower on the horizon in the western sky, but cloud cover should be sparse for eclipse viewing.

The full moon will also be a contributor to elevated water levels in Charleston Harbor with the 7:31 AM high tide, which is expected to peak around 7.6′, producing minor to moderate coastal flooding. This may have some impacts on the morning commute for folks traveling around downtown Charleston. Be ready to use alternate routes in case you encounter flooded or closed roads.

Mariners should take note that a Tropical Storm Warning has been hoisted for the coastal waters (not the harbor, yet) with very rough marine conditions expected to develop due to the aforementioned pressure gradient. There are no land-based tropical headlines as of this writing.

The weather will be generally quiet and comfortably warm for the rest of the work week, with temperatures running at or above normal for the foreseeable future as ridging develops in the Southeast. Northeasterly winds will keep temperatures generally in the mid-to-upper 70s each afternoon. Dewpoints in the 50s will generally be comfortable, though we should see those begin to creep back into the 60s starting Friday afternoon as moisture return inches up for the weekend.

The only hazard we’ll be watching for heading toward the weekend is the risk for minor coastal flooding with the afternoon and evening high tides, particularly Thursday and Friday, as persistent northeasterly wind and the approaching full moon (Nov 8) will combine to drive water levels over 7′. We could see evening high tides approaching moderate flood threshold by the weekend, so stay tuned for forecast updates.