After a warmer-than-average fall, Charleston residents might need to break out sweaters and flannels for the next few days. Cold fronts moving through the region will bring the coolest temperatures of the fall season so far.
One cold front from the North moved through the region the evening of Nov. 20. The National Weather Service in Charleston expects another cold front from the Great Lakes region to move through the evening of Nov. 21.
Temperatures already started to dip the morning of Nov. 21 and will continue to fall overnight. Residents can expect the coldest daytime and nighttime temperatures on Friday, Nov. 22, said meteorologist Brian Haines. During the day, temperatures will be in the mid-50s range, and at night, temperatures will drop to the mid-30s to low 40s.
Daytime temperatures may warm up after that, but nighttime temperatures will likely stay on the cooler side through the weekend.
Those living near the Charleston Harbor likely will experience warmer temperatures than residents further inland this weekend.
Water heats up and cools down slower than air. Although the harbor is cooling down, it’s cooling at a slower rate than the air, holding onto more of the heat absorbed during the summer, Haines said.
“It’s like a natural air conditioner or natural heat pump,” Haines said.
Fall this year has been on the warmer side: November 2024 has run more than eight degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal, Haines said.
“The atmosphere is sort of like a rubber band,” he said. “You have a long prolonged period of above normal temperatures, and somewhere along the way, it’s going to snap back, and you’re going to get a period of colder temperatures. That’s just the way that it works.”
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