Tropical Storm Ida is on its way to an early morning landfall on the Gulf Coast. As of the 1PM advisory, Ida’s packing 70 MPH winds — a generous estimate, as the storm is being sheared off from the southwest and is in cooler waters. Ida’s slowly beginning to lose its tropical characteristics, too — a condition that will accelerate as it is absorbed into a frontal system tomorrow. While Ida itself will wind down, the interaction of the storm’s low pressure center and a high pressure system to the north (which brought us beautiful weather for the weekend) is creating a tight pressure gradient, which will bring gusty winds to much of the Southeast, including Charleston. The winds will be primarily out of the east and southeast, so there is concern for elevated tides and choppy waters. Small craft advisories are in force and will likely prevail through the next several days.
The forecast is still a bit tricky on this, but for now, expect some showers to start after midnight, with a buildup of rain during the day Tuesday. If the forecast holds, the rain will gradually begin to taper off on Wednesday as the system moves offshore. Gusty winds of 15-25 MPH are possible at times, so in heavier pockets of rain visibility may become an issue. Generally, though, expect this to be a bit of a windy and rainy storm, but nothing too terribly out of the ordinary otherwise — certainly is nothing to board up over. 
I’ll post some additional information as it comes through the weather wire during the day in the comments as we begin to get a better handle on what’s going to happen over the next two days. Stay tuned.
Jared Smith 12:06 am on December 15, 2009 Permalink
Rain is taking hold throughout the Charleston metro — it will be with us for a day or so. Expect to hear some embedded rumbles of thunder, as well. Rainfall rates are heaviest further south into Beaufort and Jasper counties; locally heavy rainfall is possible through tonight and tomorrow morning. Given that an inch or two of rain overnight is not out of the question, flooding problems may start downtown well before high tide.
Jared Smith 12:35 am on December 15, 2009 Permalink
Fully expecting to see at least a flood advisory go up for low-lying and poor drainage areas soon — rainfall has been steady over the past hour with decent RADAR-estimated rates of up to 8 tenths of an inch per hour in some spots, including West Ashley. The more impressive rainfall rates are south of here and offshore; seeing estimations near 2″ per hour on a line between Beaufort and Hilton Head Island.