Charleston Weather

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  Jared Smith 2:41 pm on December 21, 2008 Permalink  

  Rude Awakening: The Cold Returns (Briefly) 

  We’ve been enjoying a period of record warmth here in Charleston, but that is in the process of coming to a very abrupt end. A cold front is pushing through this evening; once the clouds break, expect temperatures to plummet into the low 30s. This is a stark change from lows in the mid-50s that we’ve enjoyed all week. As for your daytime high tomorrow? 45 degrees. Now, those are inland numbers; the water will add a couple degrees downtown and on the beaches, but still — it’s going to feel like winter again in a hurry.

  Temperatures will rebound fairly quickly, though; Tuesday gets us into the upper 50s and by Wednesday we’ll be flirting with 70 again. This sets us up for a warm and wet Christmas, unfortunately, with another system slated to come through that day. That system won’t modify our temperatures much, and we’re slated to be in another warm weather pattern through the weekend.

  So, keep those jackets handy, but also keep an eye on the short-sleeves, as you’ll be reaching for those again by midweek.

   

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  Jared Smith 6:12 am on December 16, 2008 Permalink  

  Quake, Rattle, and Roll 

  Charleston got an unusual wakeup call this morning: A 3.6 magnitude earthquake just a few miles from Goose Creek and Summerville. There is, indeed, a fault line in Summerville (making us California imports feel right at home), and it does occasionally perk up, but it’s rare when people actually feel it. So, understandably, there’s quite a buzz this morning.

  I didn’t feel it in my apartment in West Ashley, but saw a message come across from the National Weather Service about a possible earthquake and put a message out on Twitter. I got a great response on FriendFeed, especially from Heidi, who was almost right over the epicenter. Reports are that it was felt as far as Johns Island, though.

  Did you feel it? Feel free to leave your experience in comments.

  Update: News2 reports that USGS has shifted the epicenter more towards Summerville. This jibes well with what Heidi was saying on FriendFeed, and explains some of the comments I’ve gotten from Goose Creek folks that didn’t feel it, either.

   
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  Jared Smith 9:26 pm on December 14, 2008 Permalink  

  Benefits of living in the South: 70s in December 

  It’s definitely not going to feel very Decemberish this week, that’s for sure. Over the next couple days, we’ll be mired in occasional showers as a trough of low pressure is dropping in. This should clear out and bring us a very nice rest of the week.

  It’s just not going to feel like December. NWS keeps us in the 70s for a majority of the week. Yes, 70s! It’ll be nice not to wake up and have to scrape my car, but still — the warmth will make it that much harder to get motivated to sit online and do Christmas shopping. The models seem to keep this warmth in play up through this weekend; temperatures seem to only begin to moderate closer to normal by the beginning of next week when another disturbance comes through. Don’t lose track of your sweaters, but keep the short sleeves handy through this week!

   
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  9:56 am on December 10, 2008 Permalink  

  Experience The Warmth 

  We in Charleston have reverted back to October, apparently. If you’ve stepped outside, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the return of warm, mid-70s temperatures, Charlestonian humidity and a familiar urge to dodge mosquitoes. Funk-nasty. This is happening thanks to a system pumping a very warm southerly flow into the area.

  Well, this sort of thing doesn’t last too long in December, and typically, these temperature differences resolve themselves with force. A fairly potent storm system is sweeping through the middle of the country, causing plenty of problems with severe weather across Texas and into Mississippi and Alabama. So, as you might expect, we’ve got a slight risk of severe weather tomorrow, which primarily hinges on how much sunshine peeks through before the front arrives. In fact, the outer portions of the storm are showing up on radar.

  So, keep an eye out during the day tomorrow — it could get a little rough at times. It’ll be through by Friday, and we’ll get back into upper 50s for highs (though the lows aren’t currently projected to be as low as they have been, which is good for my getting up on time). One thing is for certain, this late fall has been anything but normal; we just can’t seem to figure that out this time around.