Hello everyone, Jared Smith here with your Charleston weather forecast for Sunday, July 2nd, 2023, all the way up to Tuesday, July 4th, Independence Day.

Well, the heat really begins to turn up on Sunday as air temperatures top out in the mid-90s in the afternoon.

Increasingly humid air will send heat indices above 105 for the first time this year during the mid-afternoon hours as well, so if you’re outdoors, make sure you’re getting plenty of water and taking breaks in the shade if you can.

Keep in mind that once heat indices get above 105 degrees, the risk for heat stroke increases considerably.

Much like Saturday, there will be a chance for an isolated shower or thunderstorm in the afternoon, but don’t get too attached to the idea of a storm bringing much relief from the heat.

We’ll continue to see moisture increase across the area Monday into Tuesday.

Monday may end up being the hottest of the set, with air temperatures topping out in the mid to upper 90s and heat indices possibly as high as 111 degrees.

The heat advisory criteria for July 1st and beyond is a heat index over 110, so I do expect to see a heat advisory hoisted for Monday.

With the additional moisture in place, comes an increased chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms as well.

These will generally form on the sea breeze during the afternoon hours, push inland with that sea breeze, and they may impart some heat relief for a few of you, but keep in mind that lightning will be a concern.

The 4th of July is going to be another hot one, with heat indices approaching 110 in the afternoon.

Another heat advisory could be in the cards, so make sure you’re taking appropriate steps to stay cool and hydrated during the day.

And once again, we’ll need to keep an eye to the sky in the afternoon, as showers and thunderstorms should pop on the sea breeze and push inland.

High pressure aloft will also have flattened out a bit, and this could improve the shear and instability situation, leading to a couple stronger thunderstorms, maybe even a severe storm or two, so keep an eye out for that.

Remember, regardless of whether a storm is classified severe or not, all thunderstorms are dangerous due to the lightning they produce.

When thunder roars, go indoors.

We’ll continue to contend with coastal flooding as well with the evening high tides, thanks to the approaching full moon on July 3rd.

Water levels should approach 7.1 to 7.3 feet, meaning low or low water with the 8.03pm high tide Sunday, and that would be enough to close a couple vulnerable roads downtown, particularly around the city market and maybe around Lockwood.

We’ll repeat this performance on Monday and Tuesday as well, with high tides on those days at 8.58pm and 9.53pm respectively.

So it is getting later in the day, a little less impact during the daytime hours, but still if you’re out and about in the evening, certainly something that you’re going to want to watch for and be ready to use alternate routes.

Keep an ear out for coastal flood advisories from the National Weather Service over the next few days, as they will almost certainly be needed.

And finally, a little braggadocious time, a small milestone for this fledgling podcast.

This is the 50th episode that I’ve actually written and recorded properly.

Now I’ve done a few off-the-cuff ones beforehand as a test over on JAM, and that went really well, as some of you know, and thank you to everybody who has been listening since those very early days.

That has morphed into what you’re listening to now.

The response has been absolutely fantastic, and I really appreciate everyone who has subscribed and given some great feedback to help make this even better.

So ratings, reviews, sharing this with your friends, all ways to keep this going as we continue to reach new audiences on a new platform.

It’s very exciting times here at Charleston Weather Headquarters.

And that was Charleston Weather Daily for July 2, 2023.

I’m Jared Smith.

You can find Charleston weather forecasts online at chswx.com, on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at chswx, and on Mastodon at chswx at chswx.social.

Thanks for listening, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.