NOTE: Some of the data on this page has not been verified and should be used with that in mind. It may and occasionally will, be wrong. The tide reports are by xtide and are NOT FOR NAVIGATION. Privacy and Cookie policy

AMZ330 Charleston Harbor- 250 Pm Edt Tue Oct 3 2023
Tonight..NE winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts to 20 kt, diminishing to 5 to 10 kt late. Hazy.
Wed..NE winds 10 to 15 kt. Hazy.
Wed night..NE winds 10 to 15 kt. Hazy in the evening.
Thu..NE winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts to 20 kt.
Thu night..NE winds 10 to 15 kt.
Fri..N winds 5 to 10 kt. A slight chance of showers and tstms in the afternoon.
Fri night..N winds 5 to 10 kt, becoming nw after midnight. A slight chance of showers and tstms in the evening.
Sat..W winds 5 to 10 kt.
Sat night..N winds 10 kt.
Sun..N winds 10 kt.
Sun night..NW winds 5 to 10 kt.
winds and waves higher in and near tstms.
unless otherwise noted, waves 1 foot or less.
charleston harbor water temperature 75 degrees.

AMZ300 250 Pm Edt Tue Oct 3 2023
Synopsis for the coastal waters of south coastal south carolina and north coastal georgia.. High pressure will prevail through Thursday. A cold front will approach Friday and move offshore Saturday morning with cooler high pressure returning this weekend.

FXUS62 KCHS 031939 AFDCHS

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Charleston SC 338 PM EDT Tue Oct 3 2023

...ELEVATED SMOKE FROM CANADIAN WILDFIRES TO BRING HAZY CONDITIONS THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

SYNOPSIS
High pressure will prevail through Thursday. A cold front will approach Friday and move offshore Saturday morning with cooler high pressure returning this weekend.

NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/
Inland high pressure will hold across the interior tonight.
Diurnal cumulus will dissipate after sunset resulting in clear/mostly clear skies; however, some degree of marine stratocumulus could make a run for the central and southern Georgia coast after midnight. Dry conditions will prevail for most areas. Isolated to scattered showers will continue to lurk offshore through the night. A few of these showers could approach coastal portions of McIntosh County, but the bulk will remain over the coastal waters and coastal areas south of the Altamaha River. Similar to last night, the boundary layer will decouple later this evening. Clear skies and calm winds will support moderate to strong radiational conditions overnight, although a persistent layer of smoke aloft could play into things during the diurnal minimum. How much is unclear. Once again favored the cooler side of the 03/12z guidance inland with more moderated temperatures across the coastal corridor. Lows will range from the upper 50s well inland to the lower 70s at the beaches.

Satellite shows a band of thick elevated smoke from Canadian wildfires extending from the local area to well offshore of Cape Hatteras, NC. This has resulted in quite a bit of haze today with vsbys running 3-6 miles and as low as 2 miles at times. H3R smoke guidance keeps a good bit of elevated smoke in place through the night and as the nocturnal inversion settles, any surface/near surface based haze or smoke could settle below the nocturnal inversion resulting in continued reductions in vsbys. Haze will highlighted in all gridded and text forecasts as a result. As of 2 PM, the air quality has generally remained in the Moderate (code yellow) category with a few locations such as around the Savannah Metro Area rising into the Unhealthy of Sensitive Groups (code orange) category. While widespread air quality issues are not expected, a few more pockets of code orange can not be ruled out. Neither the South Carolina DHEC or Georgia Air Protection Branch of the Environmental Protection Division have issued any Air Quality Alerts for Southeast South Carolina or Southeast Georgia.

SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/
Ridging aloft will retreat into the Gulf of Mexico while an expansive trough across the Western and Central U.S. progresses eastward. At the surface, high pressure will dominate the local forecast area through Thursday night before a cold front associated with the aforementioned trough approaches the region Friday.
Wednesday will feature a rain-free forecast as deep, dry air advects from NNE flow. Thursday, a slight surge in moisture is expected along the coastline (PWATs around 1.5-1.7 inches). The forecast does not feature any mentionable POPs Thursday as there is a lot of dry air aloft to overcome along with a weakening subsidence inversion.
However, it is worth noting that there is a small chance that a shower could develop over the coastal waters and brush the immediate coast. Atlantic moisture will continue to surge along the coast Friday and spread onshore. Additionally, moisture ahead of the approaching cold front will spread in across the inland counties.
Guidance is not overly impressive with precipitation over land, possibly due to pockets of dry air within the mid-levels and some warmer air aloft. On the other hand, isolated showers could develop along the coastal areas where there is less dry air and weak available potential energy. Therefore, the forecast features POPs around 10-20% along the coastal areas Friday afternoon. Max temperatures each day will reach the low to mid 80s and overnight lows will dip into the 60s.

LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/
Late Friday night, high pressure will shift offshore as a cold front begins to push across the forecast area from the west. Aloft, a large trough will remain over the East Coast through the long-term period. Not much, if any precipitation is expected with the FROPA.
The biggest impact of the cold front will be the seasonably cool temperatures Sunday and Monday. Highs both days will be relatively chilly topping out into the low to mid 70s. Overnight lows Sunday night will be the coolest the region has seen since earlier this year, with mid 40s inland and low to mid 50s along the coast.
Temperatures will begin to warm to near normal Tuesday as high pressure builds into the region.

AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/
03/18z TAF discussion: KCHS/KJZI/KSAV: Haze induced by an elevated smoke layer will impact all terminals through the rest of the afternoon. Vsbys could teeter along the VFR/MVFR thresholds, especially at KJZI and KSAV where satellite shows the band of thickest elevated smoke occurring. Depending on trends at issuance times, TEMPO groups for MVFR vsbys in HZ may be included. Otherwise, VFR will prevail through 04/18z.

Extended Aviation Outlook: Prevailing VFR conditions expected through the weekend.

MARINE
Tonight: Northeast winds will persist overnight as inland high pressure holds firm. An enhanced gradient along the coast will support 15-20 kt winds. Seas will build to 4-6 ft over the Savannah-Altamaha Sound nearshore waters this evening and persist through the night, so a Small Craft Advisory has been posted there. For the South Santee-Edisto Beach and Edisto Beach-Savannah nearshore waters, seas will hold 4-5 ft. Seas as high as 6-7 ft will continue over the Georgia offshore leg where a Small Craft Advisory remains in effect.

Wednesday through Sunday: High pressure will prevail over land into Thursday while a trough persists off the southeastern coast. This will result in a pinched pressure gradient across the coastal waters, yielding enhanced northeasterly winds generally 15 to 20 knots. Small Craft Advisories for the Georgia waters from 0-60nm are in place for seas 5 to 7 ft and 25 kt gusts. Seas elsewhere should average 4 to 5 ft. A cold front is progged to push offshore Saturday morning, shifting winds out of the WNW, generally around 10-15 knots. Seas will diminish this weekend as well, averaging 3 to 4 ft, outside the Georgia waters from 20-60nm.

Rip Currents: Moderate northeasterly winds, lingering swell energy, and the recent Perigee and Full Moon will continue the enhanced risk of rip currents. A Moderate Risk is in effect for all area beaches Wednesday.

TIDES/COASTAL FLOODING
Tides in the Charleston Harbor could reach minor flood levels with the high tide Wednesday afternoon. Another Coastal Flood Advisory could be needed for Charleston and Coastal Colleton Counties. No additional flooding is expected at Fort Pulaski.

CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
GA...None.
SC...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM EDT Wednesday for AMZ354.
Small Craft Advisory until 1 AM EDT Friday for AMZ374.

toggle option: (graph/table)

Drayton
Click for Map
Tue -- 12:00 AM EDT     6.21 feet High Tide
Tue -- 05:58 AM EDT     0.21 feet Low Tide
Tue -- 07:15 AM EDT     Sunrise
Tue -- 11:54 AM EDT     Moonset
Tue -- 12:27 PM EDT     7.11 feet High Tide
Tue -- 06:39 PM EDT     0.89 feet Low Tide
Tue -- 07:02 PM EDT     Sunset
Tue -- 09:55 PM EDT     Moonrise
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION

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

Charleston Harbor Entrance
Click for Map
Tue -- 02:53 AM EDT     -2.38 knots Max Ebb
Tue -- 05:53 AM EDT     0.00 knots Slack
Tue -- 07:14 AM EDT     Sunrise
Tue -- 08:24 AM EDT     1.79 knots Max Flood
Tue -- 11:53 AM EDT     Moonset
Tue -- 12:16 PM EDT     -0.00 knots Slack
Tue -- 03:29 PM EDT     -2.48 knots Max Ebb
Tue -- 06:42 PM EDT     0.00 knots Slack
Tue -- 07:01 PM EDT     Sunset
Tue -- 08:48 PM EDT     1.33 knots Max Flood
Tue -- 09:54 PM EDT     Moonrise
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION

Charleston Harbor Entrance, South Carolina Current, knots

Full Color Weather Map

Link to Loop


Other links: GEOS-West     Contential US     Full GOES-East

Charleston, SC,