Much-needed rain and below-normal temperatures are in store for the week ahead as a series of fronts affect the area. We’ll also see the risk for some tidal flooding in the mornings beginning Tuesday courtesy of the upcoming full moon.

Overall, expect generally quiet weather to continue this weekend, though Saturday will get off to a very chilly start. Expect another morning around or below freezing across much of the area away from the locally warmer coastline, with breezy northeasterly winds making it feel more like the mid-20s. We'll only warm to the mid-50s in the afternoon with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies expected.

One front has come through as of this writing Wednesday evening, with another front hot on its heels to pass through overnight into early Thanksgiving morning. This second front is going to bring in quite the cooldown for the next few days, especially as we get into Friday and Saturday, but Thanksgiving will certainly illustrate the contrast from the past few days: expect lows in the mid-40s to warm to just about 60° in the afternoon, which is just a hair warmer than Wednesday's morning low!

A cold front will come through Wednesday, knocking temperatures down for Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

High pressure to our north will be shifting offshore as Tuesday goes on ahead of a storm system moving through the Ohio Valley, allowing a warm front to push northward into the area during the day. Some of us may see a few showers as this warm front moves northward, especially later in the morning and closer to the coast. They'll be relatively short-lived, clearing the area during the afternoon, and won't amount to too terribly much rain for those who see any of it at all.

We'll start Thanksgiving week out on an unseasonably warm note, but a temperature correction is incoming starting Thanksgiving Day as a strong cold front moves by. We'll have a couple more slight rain chances, but overall, we'll be largely dry as drought conditions continue to creep further into the Lowcountry.

Another warmer-than-normal weekend lies ahead, though a front will restore at least a little order to temperatures for Sunday. First, though, a very mild Saturday lies ahead, with temperatures starting in the upper 50s, warming to the upper 70s to around 80° in the afternoon. A stray shower will be possible well inland, but the front will be generally making a dry passage overnight into early Sunday morning.

After a slightly cooler and more cloudy day courtesy of a backdoor cold front, temperatures will head back into the upper 70s on Friday as the aforementioned front washes out with high pressure moving offshore. We start the day in the mid-50s and perhaps with some fog. Cloud cover will gradually diminish as the day goes on, and we should have a pleasant close to the day as we head into the weekend.

Warm temperatures continue for Thursday, though a nearby front and some more cloud cover will likely preclude temperatures from getting too out of hand. Wednesday's highs were close to records for the date: 82° at the airport was just a degree shy of the record of 83° set in 1942, while 80° downtown missed the record of 82° set there in 1958.

The main weather story for the rest of the work week will be unseasonable warmth courtesy of a ridge building in aloft. Temperatures will run well above normal, with highs approaching 80° particularly Wednesday and Friday (and maybe Thursday, depending on the position of a cold front to the north).

After a near-normal day of temperatures on Monday, we'll look for a similar performance on Tuesday. Temperatures will start in the mid-40s across much of the area (a little warmer near the coast, a little cooler further inland), and highs will peak around 70° in the afternoon with mostly sunny skies remaining the rule. Winds will be going more southerly during the day as surface high pressure begins to shift offshore.

After a cold front brings a brief cooldown to the area on Monday, temperatures return to the 70s on Tuesday before heading well above normal for the balance of the week ahead with little rain in sight.

After a brief cooldown on Friday, temperatures head back above normal for the weekend as high pressure remains the dominant weather feature across the area. We'll see the high that's overhead as of Friday evening slip southward, sending wind directions a little more westerly to southwesterly, kicking temperatures back into the low-to-mid-70s on Saturday. Compressional heating ahead of an advancing cold front will send highs on Sunday solidly into the mid-70s after a warmer start in the mid-50s.

Quiet weather continues for Friday and the weekend as reinforcing high pressure arrives overnight. Friday will feel a touch cooler than Thursday did, with winds going back around to the north in the wake of a dry cold front. Lows Friday bottom out in the mid-40s, with highs peaking in the upper 60s in the afternoon under uninterrupted sunshine.

Record lows were tied both at North Charleston as well as Downtown Charleston Tuesday morning as a potent shot of Arctic air swung through the area. The low at the airport fell to 29°, tying the record first set in 1943, while Downtown fell to 32°, tying the record low first set in 1913. A record cold high temperature appears to have been set as well at the airport, with the high only reaching 49° for the day, breaking the record of 54° set in 1968.

A highly anomalous Arctic intrusion is arriving this evening, evidenced by gusty winds 25-30 MPH and plummeting dewpoints across much of the area as of 7PM Monday. Further north, some flurries were reported in the Charlotte metro area and as far south as Hartsville, SC. Here at home, the first freeze of the season will occur for the vast majority of us; ensure pets and plants are protected and safe tonight as temperatures will fall into the 20s.