We reached 90° on Tuesday, the third 90° high of the year and the first time since April 20, when we reached 91°. We turn even warmer for Wednesday and Thursday as high pressure ridges over the area. Wednesday will feature highs in the low-to-mid-90s under mostly sunny skies. Heat indices won’t get too out of bounds, but it’ll still feel a touch warmer than the air temperature will indicate.
High pressure remains in control to start Thursday, sending us to the mid-90s in the afternoon with heat indices in the mid-to-upper 90s possible. A storm system will approach the area, though, and this will help ignite showers and thunderstorms later in the afternoon and evening. Given the moist, unstable, and decently sheared environment, a few of those storms could turn strong or severe. We’ll keep an eye on how things evolve further to our west Wednesday as they’ll inform the situation locally on Thursday. Stay tuned.
Showers and thunderstorms feature prominently in the forecast on Friday as a cold front moves through. A couple stronger storms still can’t be totally discounted in this scenario, though the risk looks lower than Thursday at this point. Temperatures will be governed by clouds and rain, topping out in the mid-80s. Once the front gets through late Friday/early Saturday, cooler and drier air moves in for what should be a rather nice weekend!
We may contend with a storm or two in the morning, but the weather story for Tuesday will be the return of the 90s in the afternoon. It’ll be a warm start with lows around 70°, but as the ridge aloft builds in, highs top out in the low 90s. If there’s one bit of good news here, it’s that it’s not summer-humid just yet, and dewpoints should run in the mid-60s, keeping heat indices reasonably in check. Cloud cover will be diminishing throughout the day as well, so expect plenty of sunshine as we get into the afternoon and evening hours.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms will arrive in the metro area late Tuesday and last through Wednesday morning before tapering. An isolated storm is possible along the seabreeze in the early afternoon, but otherwise, expect a mostly quiet day of weather across the area for Wednesday. We’ll get started in the mid-60s — about 5° or so above normal for this point in the year — and warm to the mid-80s in the afternoon. These temperatures generally hold true for the rest of the week, too, as high pressure reasserts control. Thursday and Friday will be rain-free, with just a slight uptick in clouds on Friday ahead of a disturbance that brings scattered storm chances to the area for the weekend.
Our next chance of wet weather arrives later Tuesday as a disturbance aloft moves into the area. We start the day on a dry note, though, and not everyone will see rain all the time heading into Tuesday afternoon and evening. Expect generally partly cloudy skies away from the scattering of storms. Lows will run in the low 60s, yielding to low-to-mid-80s in the afternoon.
Showers and thunderstorms will be possible overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning, which may have some relatively minor commute impacts depending on how quickly the disturbance can depart. Stay tuned.
High cloud cover will factor in somewhat prominently on Wednesday, but we’ll still get plenty warm with the filtered sunshine. Expect highs in the mid-80s after a low 60s start.
The heat turns back up to levels closer to Monday’s upper 80s with another couple runs at the 90° mark for the first time in 2024 coming up Thursday and Friday. High clouds will clear, leaving behind a mostly sunny sky on Thursday. A surface trough will move into the area Friday, which could act as an instigator for a few showers or thunderstorms in the afternoon (though most will stay dry). If we don’t hit 90° Thursday, we should do it Friday.
The above-normal warmth carries into Saturday before a front knocks temperatures back down to more seasonable levels for Sunday into next week. (Alas, the aforementioned front will also keep shower and thunderstorm chances in the forecast over the weekend as well, though it won’t be a washout.)
Tuesday will turn a little warmer as winds continue to blow southerly on the backside of high pressure. We start the day in the mid-50s, warming to around 80° in the afternoon as clouds mix in more prominently into the sky character. No rain, though we will likely see some evening coastal flooding once again with high tide around 9:34 PM thanks to the recent new moon and continued onshore flow.
This stretch of warmer-than-normal temperatures comes to an end on Wednesday as a cold front moves through the area. Showers and thunderstorms will be ongoing ahead of the front, and there will be a risk for a few of those storms to be on the strong to severe side. Damaging wind gusts will be the main concern, but a tornado or two can’t be totally ruled out as the line pushes eastward. If storms take a little longer to get here, that could increase the severe weather threat as well. I’d be prepared for a somewhat stormy morning commute. The good news is that the front should clear the area by evening, sweeping showers and storms offshore and allowing cooler and drier air to work into the area. Windy conditions will be expected so be careful on the bridges.
From there, temperatures run several degrees below normal for the next few days, including Bridge Run weekend. Thursday will be a much sunnier day than Wednesday, but will run almost 10° cooler in the wake of the front. Expect highs to top out in the upper 60s to around 70° in the afternoon. Friday will start even cooler, with lows in the mid-40s yielding to highs in the upper 60s once again under mostly sunny skies.
We’ll start the Bridge Run in the mid-40s and warm to the mid-60s in the afternoon under mostly sunny skies. Dewpoints will run in the low 30s in the morning, dropping to the upper 20s in the afternoon as daytime heating mixes down even drier air. All in all, sweat should be a rather efficient cooling mechanism, and there are otherwise no weather concerns.
Rain chances peak on Wednesday as a front stalls nearby before moving through overnight. Showers and a few thunderstorms will generally be the rule for much of the day, though it may not rain all day at any one spot. Cloud cover will be prevalent, which will keep lows in the low 60s in the morning. Warm air pumping in ahead of the front will allow temperatures to top out in the mid-70s despite the thick cloud cover and rain in the area. The best chance of any heavier rain looks to be later Wednesday evening into the overnight as the front presses in. Right now, a major flooding threat doesn’t seem to be in the cards, but some ponding of water is certainly possible in spots.
Showers diminish as we head through Thursday, and we should be mostly clear by the end of the day. Post-cold front, temperatures will peak just in the upper 60s, a few degrees below normal for late March. This yields an absolutely beautiful Good Friday across the Lowcountry — we start in the mid-40s and warm to the low 70s in the afternoon under full sunshine. A warming trend follows into Easter weekend, and we should be in the low 80s for a spell starting Easter Sunday.
After the past couple weeks of warmth, Tuesday might come as a bit of a shock as lows dip into the upper 30s across a good bit of the metro to start the day as cool high pressure builds in throughout the day. Temperatures will only get into the low 60s, far below normal for mid-March (the normal high for March 19 is 71°). At least the sun will be out, and the March sun angle should make these cooler-than-normal temperatures feel pretty decent.
