Sunrise 6:35 AM   Sunset 7:59 PM Moonrise 10:00 PM   Moonset 7:00 AM

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AMZ330 Charleston Harbor- 252 Am Edt Fri Apr 26 2024
Today - E winds 10 to 15 kt, increasing to 15 to 20 kt this afternoon. Waves building 1 to 2 ft.Tonight - E winds 15 kt with gusts to 20 kt early, diminishing to 10 to 15 kt.Sat - E winds 10 kt. Sat night - E winds 5 to 10 kt. Sun - SE winds 5 to 10 kt. Sun night - SE winds 5 to 10 kt. Mon - SE winds 5 to 10 kt. Mon night - S winds 5 to 10 kt. Tue - S winds 5 to 10 kt. Tue night - S winds 5 to 10 kt.
unless otherwise noted, waves 1 foot or less.
charleston harbor water temperature 69 degrees.

AMZ300 252 Am Edt Fri Apr 26 2024
Synopsis for the coastal waters of south coastal south carolina and north coastal georgia - High pressure will prevail through much of next week. A weak cold front could approach late next week.

FXUS62 KCHS 260704 AFDCHS

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Charleston SC 304 AM EDT Fri Apr 26 2024

SYNOPSIS
High pressure will prevail through much of next week. A weak cold front could approach late next week.

NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/
Through Sunrise: Some patches of shallow ground fog have recently started to develop. This is reducing vsbys in a few spots early this morning. The fog is not expected to become significant as surface winds should pick up soon as high pressure builds south and the pressure gradient begins to tighten.

Today: Surface high pressure nosing south will become better established across the Southeast U.S. today high amplitude subtropical ridging builds aloft. An area of mixed stratus and stratocumulus will build southwest into parts of the Charleston Tri-County and far interior Southeast South Carolina prior to daybreak. Much of this cloud cover should steadily mix out and lift into a modest cumulus field once the sun rises and surface heating commences. Expect partly cloudy skies to prevail for much of the day. Highs will run a tad cooler than Thursday with 1000-850 hPa thicknesses progged to peak about 10 m lower during peak heating. This coupled with a stronger inland push to the afternoon sea breeze should limit highs to the upper 70s/lower 80s inland with cooler conditions closer to the coast and on the beaches. Gusty winds will also occur near/behind the sea breeze with gusts as high as 25 mph possible.

Tonight: The synoptic pattern will change little tonight with sprawling 1035 hPa high pressure extending south over the Southeast States and strong subtropical ridging aloft. A fairly tight surface pressure gradient associated with the high itself will hold through the night which should keep the atmosphere somewhat mixed through daybreak Saturday. Onshore winds will likely keep some degree of marine-based stratocumulus moving onshore, but models appear to be struggling a bit on exactly how much cloud cover will occur. Partly cloudy conditions were favored, but adjustments to this will likely be needed as cloud trends become a bit more apparent. Low will range from the upper 50s well inland to the upper 60s at the beaches. A few beach spots along the Georgia coast, such as Tybee Island, may not drop below 70.

SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY/
A strong upper ridge axis will remain directly over the area Saturday into Sunday while cool surface high pressure remains to the north. Weak ENE to E winds will prevail through the weekend.
Low-level onshore flow is expected to bring enough moisture into the area to allow scattered to broken stratocumulus to develop during peak heating hours. High temps both days will be in the upper 70s to around 80.

The deep layered ridge shifts off the coast by Monday, with a southerly flow setting up in low levels. Less cumulus development expected on Monday, and warm advection will push highs into the low to mid 80s.

LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/
Mainly dry weather expected through the extended as a zonal flow develops aloft and surface high pressure remains over the western Atlantic. Warm advection and ample sunshine will yield a warming trend with highs back in the upper 80s to lower 90s by mid to late week.

AVIATION /05Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
26/06z TAF Discussion: KCHS/KJZI: An area of MVFR cigs moving across coastal North Carolina and into the Pee Dee is on target to impact both the Charleston terminals by daybreak. While the bulk of these clouds look to move west of KCHS, their proximity to terminal necessitates the introduction of prevailing MVFR cigs, roughly 09-13z. For KJZI, the terminal will be on the southern periphery of these clouds, so a TEMPO group for MVFR cigs was highlighted for same time period. MVFR cigs should mix out to VFR by 14z and persist through 27/06z Saturday. Gusty winds with gusts 20-22 kt will impact both terminals as the sea breeze moves inland this afternoon.

KSAV: VFR through 267/06z Saturday. An area of MVFR cigs should remain north of the terminal this morning. Wind gusts near 20 kt will be common this afternoon as the sea breeze moves inland.

Extended Aviation Outlook: Prevailing VFR.

MARINE
Today: Easterly winds will slowly build through the day as high pressure noses in from the north. Winds will reach 15-20 kt in the South Santee-Edisto Beach nearshore leg out 20 NM with slightly lower winds expected elsewhere across the local marine area. A robust sea breeze appears likely in the Charleston Harbor this afternoon. Winds should peak in the 15-20 kt range with waves building 1-2 ft. It will be close to Small Craft Advisory levels (Charleston Harbor criteria is sustained 20 kt or frequent gusts to 25 kt), but it appears that both sustained wind and wind gusts will fall just shy of advisory thresholds.
Seas will average 2-4 ft.

Tonight: East winds around 15 kt will hold through the night.
Sea breeze enhancements in the Charleston Harbor will diminish early in the evening. Seas will build to 3-5 ft and possibly as high as 6 ft in the Georgia offshore leg out 20-60 NM. There is some uncertainty if 6 ft seas will reach the Georgia offshore waters by sunrise Saturday with the latest NWPS and WaveWatch showing slight timing differences on the arrival of 6 ft seas. A Small Craft Advisory will not be issued just yet given these timing differences. The need for an advisory will be reconsidered later today.

Saturday through Tuesday: Fairly long ENE fetch may bring some 6 ft seas into the offshore GA waters late tonight or Saturday morning, then continuing into Sunday before dropping back below 6 ft. A short-duration Small Craft Advisory may be needed.
Otherwise, marine conditions will remain fairly quiet with E winds this weekend becoming SE early next week, then S by mid next week.

Rip Currents: Moderate onshore winds will continue through the weekend, while approximately 3 ft waves every 6-7 seconds hit the beaches. Local rip current calculator indicates low risk for Saturday, but the Rip Current MOS shows Moderate for the GA beaches, so we are carrying Low for SC and Moderate for GA.

CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
GA...None.
SC...None.
MARINE...None.

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Drayton
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Fri -- 05:05 AM EDT     0.39 feet Low Tide
Fri -- 06:37 AM EDT     Sunrise
Fri -- 08:00 AM EDT     Moonset
Fri -- 10:47 AM EDT     5.04 feet High Tide
Fri -- 04:54 PM EDT     0.39 feet Low Tide
Fri -- 07:58 PM EDT     Sunset
Fri -- 11:00 PM EDT     Moonrise
Fri -- 11:17 PM EDT     6.33 feet High Tide
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION

Drayton, Bee's Ferry, Ashley River, South Carolina, Tide feet

Charleston Harbor Entrance
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Fri -- 01:55 AM EDT     -2.49 knots Max Ebb
Fri -- 05:01 AM EDT     0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 06:36 AM EDT     Sunrise
Fri -- 07:22 AM EDT     1.56 knots Max Flood
Fri -- 07:59 AM EDT     Moonset
Fri -- 10:32 AM EDT     -0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 01:43 PM EDT     -1.97 knots Max Ebb
Fri -- 04:38 PM EDT     0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 07:36 PM EDT     1.67 knots Max Flood
Fri -- 07:57 PM EDT     Sunset
Fri -- 10:59 PM EDT     Moonrise
Fri -- 11:18 PM EDT     -0.00 knots Slack
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION

Charleston Harbor Entrance, South Carolina Current, knots

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