551
FXUS62 KCHS 240304
AFDCHS

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Charleston SC
1104 PM EDT Sun Jun 23 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
High pressure will remain over the western Atlantic through
much of next week.

&&

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM MONDAY MORNING/...
Tonight: Aloft, the local area will remain nestled between weak low
pressure meandering over the western Atlantic off the Southeast
Coast and a ridge extending west across the Deep South and into
parts of the Southeast United States. At the sfc, weak low pressure
will continue to track north and further away from the area tonight,
pulling deeper moisture out of the local area. The pattern should
support fairly quiet conditions with light winds away from the
beaches and some lingering clouds in place. Sfc winds could even
decouple for a few hours inland, but southwest winds should return
and gradually increase late night as a trough approaches from the
west-northwest heading through daybreak. Closer to the coast, the
pressure gradient remains enhanced, so southwest winds should remain
rather breezy during the night, gusting upwards to 15-25 mph at
times (highest along Charleston County beaches). Temps will also
remain mild ahead of the approaching trough overnight, generally
only dipping into the mid 70s inland to upper 70s/around 80 near the
beaches.

&&

.SHORT TERM /6 AM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
A broad upper ridge will remain over the central United States
on Monday while a weak shortwave drops through southeast GA/SC
in the afternoon. A weak surface front is forecast to drop
into the area Monday afternoon, potentially providing a focus
for afternoon convection. Fairly unidirectional W flow will
result in a downslope trajectory, not only pushing temps into
the upper 90s but potentially producing subsidence that works
against convective initiation. The offshore winds will also keep
the sea breeze pinned near the coast much of the day, with only
a small amount of inland movement late in the afternoon. 0-6 km
bulk shear expected to be 25-30 kt with SBCAPE around 1,000
J/kg. Given the approaching cold front, there could be some
storm organization along and ahead of the front in the
afternoon, though the downslope flow could limit the overall
coverage. Heat indices are forecast to top out 105-108F in the
afternoon, just shy of Heat Advisory criteria.

The weak upper ridge pattern will transition to a weak trough
over the Southeast Tuesday into Wednesday. At the surface, a
weak surface wave will linger near the area Tuesday, then
dissipate Tuesday night. A relatively typical summertime pattern
is expected both days, with scattered mainly diurnal convection
and highs in the 90s. Forecast heat indices both days top out
just below 108F in a few spots.

&&

.LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/...
A potent shortwave will move through Thursday and Thursday
night. On Friday, surface high pressure will be centered over
the Northeast, with a deep onshore flow over the local area.
Fairly good coverage of showers and thunderstorms expected
Thursday and Friday. A deep layered ridge will build over
the area for the weekend, decreasing diurnal convection
coverage.

&&

.AVIATION /03Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
VFR conditions will prevail at CHS/JZI/SAV terminals through 00Z
Tuesday. However, tempo MVFR cigs/vsbys can not be ruled out Monday
afternoon as a trough pushes through the region with showers and/or
thunderstorms that potentially impact the terminals. Confidence in
timing/duration of the event is too low to include in the latest TAF
issuance, but flight restrictions could need to be included in later
TAF issuances.

Extended Aviation Outlook: Mostly VFR. However, convection will
bring brief flight restrictions, mainly each afternoon and
evening.

&&

.MARINE...
Tonight: Weak low pressure will track north and further away
from local waters overnight. The pressure gradient will remain
enhanced in wake of this feature between sfc high pressure
centered further offshore across the western Atlantic and a sfc
trough approaching the Southeast United States late. As a
result, southwest winds ranging between 15-20 kt with gusts
around 25 kt are likely across nearshore SC waters off the
Charleston County Coast and across offshore GA waters. Seas
should also build to 4-6 ft in these waters overnight. Small
Craft Advisories will therefore be in effect for these waters
through the night. Elsewhere, seas should build up to 3-5 ft,
falling just short of Small Craft Advisory levels.

Extended Marine: A slight gradient enhancement will persist
Monday and Monday night due to the cold front approaching from
the west and high pressure offshore. Wind gusts and seas should
remain just below Small Craft Advisory criteria.

Monday night through Friday, a typical summertime maritime
pattern expected with S or SW winds less than 15 kt and seas no
greater than 4 ft.

&&

.CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...None.
SC...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 8 AM EDT Monday for AMZ350-374.

&&

$$

NEAR TERM...DPB
SHORT TERM...JRL
LONG TERM...JRL
AVIATION...DPB/JRL
MARINE...DPB/JRL