It’s about to get chilly in South Carolina. Will Beaufort County wake up to frost?
After an abnormally warm Halloween, the Lowcountry will wake up to an abnormally cold Nov. 1.
“It’s pretty substantial,” said Charleston Meteorologist Brian Adam. “This is a time of year that you’re going to get the first big, very cold air outbreaks. I wouldn’t quantify it as rare. I’d certainly say it’s a pretty good change in air mass.”
What felt like South Carolina’s mid-September temperatures in late October will be replaced with December-like chills, said the state’s severe weather liaison Frank Strait. In Beaufort County, prepare for a Wednesday morning in the 40s and a high of 56 degrees. Thursday and Friday mornings will be in the low 40s.
Behind the cold front pushing through Tuesday evening, gusty northerly winds will bluster in, bringing “substantially” cooler and drier air into the state, according the National Weather Service’s Charleston Office. Gusts along the beach could reach up to 30 mph, the service said. Adam warned residents to be wary about the dry, windy conditions, saying that it is not the time to do any kind of burning.
A few inland areas could see the first frost or freeze, the NWS said. However, because it’s a dry air mass coming through with wind behind it, Adam said those conditions aren’t particularly conducive to frost development.
However, whether frost will coat South Carolina’s roads, roofs and vegetation is one weather woe the Lowcountry doesn’t have to worry about. It won’t happen here this week.
Relief for those adverse to bitter air and cumbersome jackets sets in Saturday. High temperatures will creep back up to the mid-70s and evenings will cool to the mid-50s.
“We’ll bounce right back,” Adam said. “The atmosphere tends to rebound. You get the record very, very warm conditions and then it see-saws back the other way.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 12:40 PM.
