A front at the surface and a trough of low pressure aloft will keep things on the unsettled side heading into Friday and the weekend, with the potential for heavy rain especially Friday and Saturday.

Thursday’s weather setup will be similar to what we saw on Wednesday with scattered to numerous thunderstorms affecting some spots while the sun peeks out elsewhere. Temperatures will start in the low to mid-70s once again, warming to around 90° in the afternoon — just a smidge above normal for late August. The severe weather risk is low, but once again, a storm or two could produce gusty winds. There is also the risk for flooding given slow storm motions and potential training of rain across the same spots, so stay alert as you get out and about tomorrow.

Afternoon shower and thunderstorm coverage will gradually increase over the next few days as a trough of low pressure remains draped over the eastern third of the country and moisture return continues to improve.

The week ahead will certainly not run as hot as the past two weeks have been, but that comes at the cost of afternoon thunderstorms each day, with a risk for heavy, flooding rain increasing as we get toward the second half of the week.

We have a few more days to go in the most dangerous part of this heat wave before the pattern finally begins to dislodge, allowing temperatures to trend back toward — but remain above — normal for mid-August.

The weather story for the rest of the work week will be the intensifying heat wave across the area as high pressure building in aloft continues to strengthen, while southwesterly winds continue to pump in high-dewpoint air that will send heat indices over 110° in spots.

It’s a very toasty start to the school year for Charleston County on Tuesday as this week’s heat wave will begin in earnest as high pressure aloft takes hold. We’ll start the day on a very mild note, with lows in the mid-to-upper 70s warming to the mid-90s in the afternoon. Dewpoints will run in the low-to-mid-70s inland, while closer to the coast, they’ll run in the upper 70s. That will help drive heat indices solidly into the 100s, with the highest heat indices expected in the Highway 17 corridor and points east. A Heat Advisory will be in effect for Charleston County and the southern part of Berkeley County from 11am-8pm, when heat indices should exceed 108° and could top out near 111° as the seabreeze pushes by. The aforementioned high pressure will make it much harder for thunderstorms to develop, though a couple popup showers will be possible. With that in mind, though, don’t count on thunderstorms to impart any relief from the heat.

The main weather story this week will be the return of heat that will be reminiscent of what we experienced earlier in July, with another round of dangerous heat indices pushing 110-115° at times.

After a very wet weekend that included flooding rains at Mt. Pleasant and Isle of Palms, we should see a bit of a downtrend in rain chances as some of the deeper moisture that’s been hanging around this weekend moves offshore and further into the Atlantic. The pesky cold front that’s been hanging around will start the day just to our south, lifting north during the afternoon, so between this and the seabreeze, it’s still possible for a few afternoon thunderstorms to fire. Temperatures will run in the mid-70s Monday morning, topping out in the low to mid-90s in the afternoon. Heat indices should run around 102-106°, highest near the coast.

The week ahead will continue to feature warm and muggy conditions, with an uptick in rain chances as we get over the hump toward the weekend.