A few strong to severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon as waves of energy aloft interact with a nearby stationary front. As of this writing, a band of showers and thunderstorms was located just north of the Tri-County, stretching across central GA, the CSRA, and the Midlands. Outflow from these storms may, in time, trigger additional thunderstorm formation closer to the metro area. Shear and instability profiles are supportive of a few organized severe thunderstorms. Straight-line winds are the primary concern, though steep mid-level lapse rates seen on soundings are also supportive of large hail within the strongest storms. The overall tornado risk is low, but where boundaries interact, a quick spin-up can’t be ruled out.

Stay weather-aware this afternoon. Make sure you have more than one way to receive a weather warning, including one that doesn’t use an Internet connection. Social media should be a supplementary way of receiving information, but should not be used as a sole source as those sites can go down or show information that is far out-of-date.

Radar is active this afternoon with two distinct areas of thunderstorms that look to merge over the next hour, potentially bringing storms further eastward toward the coast this evening. The first area is situated across the inland-moving seabreeze, which roughly sets from Ridgeville through Moncks Corner to Jamestown. Along this line, we’ve seen hail to the size of pennies reported in Summerville with a risk of strong wind gusts approaching 55 MPH. The second area to watch is coming in from the west, aided by a mid-level impulse and riding a fairly potent outflow boundary. This outflow boundary looks to collide with the seabreeze over the next hour, sparking up additional thunderstorms especially to the southwest of the area and across the Santee Cooper lakes. Damaging wind gusts and large hail can’t be ruled out as the two boundaries collide. The resulting thunderstorm complex should continue to head eastward as the afternoon goes on, with thunderstorms likely reaching the coast by early evening.

Remember: When thunder roars, go indoors! Every thunderstorm is dangerous due to the lightning it produces.