Summer won’t loosen its grip just yet, especially as we head into Friday and Saturday as a front approaches the area, sending air temperatures back to the mid-90s and heat indices close to heat advisory territory.

Thursday looks to generally be a repeat of Wednesday (weather-wise, anyway). We’ll start the day in the mid-70s once again, warming to the low 90s in the afternoon. Mid-70s dewpoints will help drive the heat index into the upper 90s to around 100° — not quite August, but getting long in the tooth. The day should be primarily quiet with partly cloudy skies expected, though like we saw roll through Moncks Corner on Wednesday, a stray shower can’t be totally ruled out.

Highs in the 90s will continue over the next few days with plenty of sunshine as high pressure aloft remains the dominant weather feature.

The first day of September marks the beginning of climatological fall, but it certainly won’t feel that way with a stretch of 90s coming up. Tuesday starts this streak, with highs expected in the low 90s after a low-to-mid-70s start. Ridging aloft will continue to build over the area, and that should suppress much in the way of shower and thunderstorm development in the afternoon, though a stray popup isn’t out of the question.

We’re taking a look at the next seven days tonight as I’ll be taking a bit of a break over the next few days. A more regular posting schedule resumes Friday!

A rain-cooled day is on tap for Saturday — not quite peak air show weather, that’s for sure — as we may challenge a record cool high temperature. The coolest high temperature on record for May 2 is 63°, set in 1978; the NWS forecast for the airport currently calls for highs to reach about 64°. It’s gonna be close! As mentioned, some much needed rain will be falling throughout the day, with some rumbles of thunder possible with some elevated instability. No severe weather is anticipated, though. It’ll be generally on and off through late afternoon before tapering off in the evening. Many of us should see an additional inch to inch and a half of rain before it’s over — quite a nice sight given the ongoing severe drought.

A cold front will approach the area from the west throughout the day Wednesday, with shower and thunderstorm chances increasing later in the day as the front gets closer. A couple showers or storms can’t be ruled out in the afternoon well ahead of it, but the best rain chances will start early in the evening through the overnight. One or two storms could turn strong with gusty winds and hail, especially for those of you who are further inland. However, widespread severe weather is not expected.

We’ll be at the apex of this week’s temperature rollercoaster with highs topping out around 80° in the afternoon. Afterward, it’s a much different story…

After temperatures overachieved today, we look to continue remaining a little warmer than normal as we go into Wednesday. Ridging aloft will continue to build over the next couple days, and by the end of the week we should be getting into the 80s ahead of a cold front that swings through Sunday. We look to remain rain-free through Friday, when a weakening cold front gets into the Carolinas and eventually stalls out and falls apart. While a strong storm or two can’t be ruled out, widespread severe weather is not anticipated.

As mentioned earlier, another, stronger cold front will swing through Sunday with a few thunderstorms, taking us back to closer to normal temperatures for Monday and beyond.

Enjoy the warmth!

Cloud cover will look to be a bit more persistent on Tuesday, once again keeping temperatures right around 70° in the afternoon with low pressure stuck offshore, roughly about where the NC and SC border would be. Conditions should remain rain-free throughout the day, and we should get the sun peeking in and out as well.

I don’t remember the last time the seven-day forecast was so calm. High pressure remains in control, which means little to no rain chances and steadily warming temperatures into the 70s by the end of next week. It’s a worthy reprieve from what’s been a soggy start to 2021 so far.

Saturday will be a bit on the cloudy and cool side, with highs topping out in the mid-50s with peeks of sun becoming more frequent in the afternoon. Sunday is my pick day of the weekend; despite temperatures remaining well below normal, there will be plenty of sunshine, and the March sun angle will hit a little differently than, say, January.

From there, a warming trend will commence, and by the end of next week, temperatures look to be running a few degrees above normal in the mid-70s.

The only weather concern of note will be the potential for frost and freeze conditions each morning starting Sunday through Tuesday. If you’ve planted, be ready to protect that sensitive vegetation and make sure your pets have a warm spot to be.

Enjoy the weekend!

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve even generated one of these seven-day graphics because I’ve spent the past two Sundays intensely focused on an overnight severe weather threat heading into the following Monday.

No such issues this week — in fact, the only severity in the weather on Monday will be how severely nice it will be. We start the new work week in the low 50s and end up in the mid-70s under full sunshine. 80s return on Tuesday as high pressure gradually shifts offshore. Our next rain chance should arrive by Wednesday night into early Thursday morning as a storm system crosses the Great Lakes, sending a trailing cold front down our way. A few thunderstorms are possible as well, but no severe weather is currently expected. We will clear out during the day Thursday, setting us up for an increasingly warm and mostly sunny weekend as we start May.