We’ve got a quiet weekend of weather ahead as high pressure remains generally in control. Notably, our starts will be a bit milder: expect Saturday to begin in the low to mid-40s, while Sunday starts in the mid-to-upper 40s as onshore winds help to take the edge off the chill a bit. Temperatures each afternoon head toward the mid-60s, and we can expect a mix of sun and clouds each day.
The only real issues with the weather this weekend come in the form of winds and tides. Saturday in particular will be a breezy day as high pressure butts up against a trough of low pressure that’ll be developing offshore. Winds stay elevated on Sunday, but won’t be quite as blustery.
The northeast winds along with the upcoming full moon will help drive water levels into flood stage in Charleston Harbor with the morning high tides. Saturday morning, we can expect a water level between 7.1-7.3′ mean lower low water with the 6:41am high tide, which is solidly within minor flood stage. We could approach moderate flooding with Sunday morning’s high tide, currently forecasted between 7.4-7.6′ MLLW around the 7:32am high tide. Moderate flooding begins at 7.5′, and this is the level when we start to see more widespread road closures downtown. If downtown’s in your plans early the next couple mornings, be ready to reroute around road closures. Otherwise, enjoy a nice weekend!
We are off to another frigid start on Saturday. Many spots in the metro will dip into the low 20s, with upper teens expected further inland. A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect for inland Berkeley and Dorchester counties, with the expected window of coldest air between 3-9am. Temperatures will moderate throughout the day, and we should get back above 50° once again, with highs topping out about in the low to mid-50s under sunny skies.
Temperatures will take another plunge toward freezing on Sunday morning, though we can expect lows to generally run some 10-12° above where they were on Saturday morning. This will mean that some spots inland will likely dip back into the low 30s once again, but much of the metro should stay just above freezing, especially the closer to the coast you are. We’ll see a few more clouds as high pressure starts to move offshore, and the resulting return flow will allow highs to peak in the mid-60s — much closer to normal for this point in December and some 20° warmer than we felt on Friday!
The warming trend continues for the first part of the week as the next storm system works into the area, with rain chances starting Tuesday and peaking Wednesday. The end of next week looks to close out below normal once more, though not to the advisory-level cold we’ve had recently.
We’ll add a little amplitude to the temperature rollercoaster as we get into the second half of the work week as one high pressure departs and another builds back in.
Bring in your pets and sensitive plants (or cover them if you can’t bring them in) as the first freeze of the season is expected tonight into Saturday morning to close out climatological fall and welcome in climatological winter on December 1. Temperatures will fall into the low 30s across much of the metro by morning, and a Freeze Warning is in effect for the entire Tri-County area as a result. Despite several days of cold air ahead, including even colder air next week, this will be the only Freeze Warning of the season as the growing season will come to an end on December 1, regardless of how far to the east freezing temperatures penetrate. Frost and freeze alerts resume on March 1, 2025.
After that very chilly start, we’re warming to only the mid-50s in the afternoon despite mostly sunny skies. Northerly winds 5-10 MPH will keep temperatures feeling like the mid-40s through early afternoon.
Winds go calm overnight Saturday into Sunday morning, and we’ll see another very chilly morning as a result, with the potential for widespread frost particularly inland. Lows should bottom out in the low 30s once more. (If it doesn’t freeze again, it’ll be close.) Highs will recover a bit to the upper 50s on Sunday afternoon, but that’s still well below normal for the first of December.
We have another shot of even colder air in store for early next week, with lows in the 20s across the metro possible Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Tuesday may not even get out of the 40s! Colder-than-normal temperatures and rain-free conditions look to continue through next Friday.
Showers will move into the area overnight and persist into a good chunk of Wednesday as a cold front moves by. We start Wednesday in the mid-60s, warming to the mid-70s in the afternoon. Showers should scour out by early evening, and from there, cooler and drier air will begin to work into the area. The airmass change will be very noticeable this go-around; we’ll start Thursday in the mid-40s, warming to the low-to-mid-60s in the afternoon at best. Friday will be even cooler, with lows in the low 40s warming to just the upper 50s in the afternoon despite full sunshine, roughly 10° below the normal temperature for November 22 and more reminiscent of normal highs for early January!
Cool high pressure will be in control this weekend, and we will get a taste of more seasonable conditions for mid-November than we’ve had thus far this month.
First, though, there is the potential for major coastal flooding for the second time in three days with Saturday morning’s high tide, which is predicted around 7:46am. Water levels in Charleston Harbor are projected to peak between 8.1-8.3′ MLLW with this tide, and this will cause numerous road closures throughout downtown Charleston, as well as flooding issues on Isle of Palms, Mt. Pleasant, and perhaps even parts of James Island. Be vigilant and be ready to reroute in case you encounter a flooded road. A Coastal Flood Watch is in effect between 6-10am, and if trends continue, expect this to be upgraded to a Coastal Flood Warning. Also, if the predicted forecast height of 8.2′ comes to pass, it’d be a top-25 tide on record at Charleston Harbor.
Water levels should diminish by mid-morning, and from there, a fairly nice Saturday commences. Expect quite a bit of sunshine, with temperatures warming from the mid-40s in the morning to the upper 60s in the afternoon, just about right on target for normal for this point in the year. Sunday should turn a touch warmer, but a high of 70° is just a teeny bit warmer than normal, so that seasonable feel will continue. Unfortunately, another round of moderate to major coastal flooding is possible with Sunday morning’s high tide, though it should not be as severe as Saturday’s.
From there, a warming trend commences for the first half of the week before a mid-week front. The second half of next week looks much cooler than normal, with highs possibly not making it out of the 50s next Thursday! But let’s enjoy the weekend first.
A cold front will sag southward over the area overnight, taking the edge off some of this very unseasonable warmth (which included tying the record high of 85° at the airport today). We’ll still stay warmer than normal this weekend, though, as a more substantial airmass change remains largely out of reach for now.
Saturday starts in the mid-60s as high pressure pushes south into the area. Northeasterly winds will kick up a touch, and this will help keep temperatures from getting too far beyond the mid-70s in the afternoon despite a good bit of sunshine. It’ll be noticeably drier, too: the absurd-for-November 70s dewpoints get shunted southward in favor of drier air characterized by dewpoints in the upper 50s.
The reprieve is somewhat short-lived, though, as the parent high heads offshore, allowing a coastal trough to sharpen and move ashore Sunday. We start Sunday around 60°, but will warm back into the upper 70s in the afternoon with increasing cloud cover along with dewpoints heading back into the mid-60s. A shower or two will be possible as we head into Sunday evening, and that risk will hang around through Tuesday.
Looking ahead, we see next week continuing to generally feature above-normal temperatures for the first half, but a front should swing through late week that will knock temperatures back closer to November normals in time for the weekend.
Unseasonable warmth continues on Saturday ahead of a front that will move south across the area late in the day. As has been the case the past few days, there will be a decent mix of cloud cover with sunshine at times as well. A stray shower can’t be totally discounted, but much of us should stay rain-free as the drought continues. Lows on Saturday start in the low 60s, warming to the low 80s in the afternoon.
Sunday runs a little cooler as high pressure wedges southward. We start the day around 60° and warm to the mid-70s in the afternoon — still above normal, but not quite as above-normal as we’ve seen temperatures go recently. A mix of clouds and sun continues to be expected, and a stray shower is still not totally out of the question. Measurable rainfall looks highly unlikely, though.
Finally, don’t forget: we fall back to Standard Time early Sunday morning. Take Saturday evening to move the manual clocks backwards, check the batteries in your smoke detector, and maybe give your NOAA Weather Radio a once-over, too.
We’ll look to approach a record high on Saturday before a cold front swings through Sunday, cooling us off a bit and increasing cloud cover. (A shower or two may not be out of the question, either.)
High pressure at the surface and aloft hangs on for one more day on Saturday. We start the day in the mid-50s, but compressional heating ahead of the aforementioned front will help drive temperatures into the mid-80s. The record high of 87°, set in 1939, may be achievable at North Charleston, so we’ll keep an eye on this. A few clouds are possible, but sunshine should be the dominant feature once again.
Sunday will feature more clouds than we’ve seen in a while as the ridge moves out and a trough moves in overhead, driving a backdoor front through the region. We start around 60°, but only warm to 74° in the afternoon as winds shift northeasterly. Model guidance still does not totally rule out a shower or two across the Tri-County on Sunday, but most of us should expect the day to stay rain-free. Any rain that falls would be largely insignificant, too, perhaps in the hundredths of inches at best, so definitely not anything to get your hopes up over (if rain’s what you’re looking for, anyway).
Heading into next week, we stay cool for Monday but start to warm up again on Tuesday and beyond. Halloween will be on the warm side with lows in the low 60s warming to around 80° in the afternoon under mostly sunny skies. Alas, no sweater weather is in the foreseeable future as we head into November.
We have an outstanding weekend of weather ahead as high pressure remains in control. After our first low in the 40s Friday morning, Saturday starts back in the upper 40s once more, but winds will start to swing around to the south and that will begin to help moderate the airmass a bit. Expect just a few passing clouds Saturday afternoon, but otherwise, lots of sunshine will be the rule.
Sunday will be a warmer day. We start the day in the mid-50s, warming back into the low 80s in the afternoon under mostly sunny skies. It’ll be a very comfortable low 80s, though, as humidity will be a non-factor with dewpoints in the mid-50s.
I hope you get a chance to enjoy this wonderful weekend of weather!
