A dry cold front moved through South Carolina this morning and has delivered an unusually cool air mass for this time of year. We've reached the time of year when "unusually cool" is good, so enjoyable weather is coming to start the weekend. Almost all of the state will see lows in the 50s tonight and highs in the low to middle 80s Saturday with very low humidity. Clouds will dim the sunshine at times, but I don't think I'll hear many complaints. Enjoy and savor it because we might not get another spell of such nice weather until October.
This loop of visible satellite imagery shows the sun rising over our Fruited Plain to reveal a clear sky over the Mid-Atlantic coast and eastern Great Lakes region under an area of high pressure. Some high cloudiness is streaming over South Carolina from stormy weather over the nation's midsection.
Image source: University of Wisconsin RealEarth
The cool high-pressure area will slide away to the east Saturday night into Sunday. As it does, our wind will turn to the southeast, and that will result in increasing moisture. A weak upper-level disturbance will pass through this part of the country on Sunday to bring us more cloudiness and a chance for a shower or thunderstorm. The best chance for rain will be in the Upstate while the Pee Dee likely remains dry. Those that avoid rain will have another enjoyable day with highs ranging from the low 80s in the Upstate to the upper 80s along the Coastal Plain. Humidity will be higher on Sunday but will still be bearable.
Next week will bring us a return to more typical early summer conditions. Highs will mostly be in the 85-90° range Monday through Wednesday, with some sun each day. Also, weak disturbances moving through on northwesterly flow aloft will trigger hit-and-miss showers and thunderstorms each day, mainly during the afternoon and evening. The severe storm risk will depend on the timing of those disturbances; the severe storm risk would be higher should one move in during the afternoon heat. Predicting the timing of such features in a northwesterly flow regime is a pain in the neck for weather forecasters, though. We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it.
Later next week, we'll have another cold front move in from the north to make our weather more active. However, there are questions about what happens to that front when it gets to this part of the country and its timing. What would be nice would be for that front to push through Thursday night into Friday, followed by nice weather with a drop in temperatures and humidity for next weekend. Some computer models predict that, but others show the front arriving later and getting hung up over the Southeast, resulting in unsettled conditions over some or all of South Carolina starting Friday and lasting through next weekend. Both are reasonable possibilities, so we'll have to wait a while for a good idea about next weekend's weather.
Have you heard that the Atlantic hurricane season starts Saturday? I'm sure you have; it's not exactly a secret. I'll send out a special Weather Alert in the morning to cover the upcoming hurricane season in more detail and cover the season outlooks from various sources, including my thoughts. Spoiler alert: It's looking quite active.
You'll want to be diligent about your preparation efforts like you should each year. As always, you'll find preparation tips and evacuation information at hurricane.sc. I recommend checking it out and getting a head start on hurricane prep!
