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- 1006 Pm Est Fri Dec 1 2023
.dense fog advisory in effect until 7 am est Saturday...
Overnight..S winds 5 kt late this evening, becoming light and variable. A slight chance of showers. Areas of dense fog.
Sat..S winds 5 to 10 kt. Patchy fog in the morning. A chance of showers in the morning, then showers likely with a slight chance of tstms in the afternoon.
Sat night..S winds 10 kt. Showers likely with a slight chance of tstms.
Sun..SW winds 10 to 15 kt. A chance of showers.
Sun night..W winds 10 kt.
Mon..W winds 10 to 15 kt.
Mon night..W winds 15 kt with gusts to 20 kt, becoming nw after midnight.
Tue..NW winds 10 kt.
Tue night..W winds 10 to 15 kt.
Wed..NW winds 15 kt.
Wed night..N winds 15 kt.
winds and waves higher in and near tstms.
unless otherwise noted, waves 1 foot or less.
charleston harbor water temperature 59 degrees.

AMZ300 1006 Pm Est Fri Dec 1 2023
Synopsis for the coastal waters of south coastal south carolina and north coastal georgia.. A warm front will shift through the area tonight, with a cold front arriving late Sunday. High pressure will then prevail through much of next week.

FXUS62 KCHS 020313 AFDCHS

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Charleston SC 1013 PM EST Fri Dec 1 2023

SYNOPSIS
A warm front will shift through the area tonight, with a cold front arriving late Sunday. High pressure will then prevail through much of next week.

NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING/

Late this evening, coastal observations and web cameras indicated dense fog across Charleston County. Traffic cameras away from the water have much thinner fog at this time. Near term guidance indicates that the sea fog will continue to increase across the SC waters through the rest of the night.
Based on high resolution guidance, the fog should advance inland, primarily over the SC Lowcountry tonight. The 0Z CHS sounding indicated a well defined inversion, centered at 700 ft agl. Moisture should increase below the inversion overnight. The updated forecast will indicate areas of fog, with dense fog possible near the coast. A marine Dense Fog Advisory has been issued north of the Savannah River, including the Charleston Harbor, for tonight. A Dense Fog Advisory may become necessary later tonight, primarily from coastal Jasper north to Berkeley and Charleston County. Otherwise, KCLX detected a few weak showers over extreme SE GA, drifting north. These showers should gradually weaken as they move north. Temperatures will remain in the 60s overnight.

SHORT TERM /6 AM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY/
Southwesterly flow will prevail aloft through the weekend and into early Monday. The region will remain within the warm sector of a surface low pressure system centered to the west through the weekend. The SW flow aloft will advect higher PWATs into the region, with PWATs topping 1.5 inches Saturday afternoon and into Saturday night. Some shower activity will likely be ongoing across far inland zones to start Saturday, with the rain showers pushing eastward through the day. By mid-afternoon almost everywhere should see some rainfall, persisting through the overnight period. Models have begun to trend slightly drier, keeping a majority of the precipitation further inland. This forecast trended POPs down a hair on Saturday, with additional decreases possible with future forecasts. Models depict ML CAPE values around 100-200 J/kg Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, therefore a thunderstorm is possible, although the severe thunderstorm risk remains nearly zero. Rainfall will likely be ongoing at sunrise on Sunday, tapering off into the afternoon hours. Rainfall from Saturday into Sunday Monday will be dry, with cloud cover clearing in the afternoon as a cold front approaches from the west.

Temperatures through the period will be above normal, owing to the SW flow aloft. Highs on Saturday and Sunday will be in the low to mid 70s, with Monday's highs topping out in the upper 60s. Overnight lows on Saturday will be very mild for early December standards, only dipping into the mid 60s. Sunday night will be slightly cooler, with 50s forecast.

LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/
An upper level trough will swing off the Eastern Seaboard Monday night into Tuesday, while at the surface a cold front will push through the region. Surface high pressure will then build in behind the front while zonal flow develops aloft. The cold front will be devoid of any moisture, so a rain-free forecast has been maintained.
However, the front will usher in a cooler airmass, with temperatures dropping to right around or slightly below normal.

AVIATION /03Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/
KCHS/KJZI/KSAV: The 0Z CHS observed sounding indicated a pronounced llvl inversion, centered at 700 ft agl. In addition, observations at KJZI prior to the 0Z TAFs indicated some degree of low ceilings and visibility. Conditions will favor an expansion of sea fog over the SC Atlantic nearshore waters tonight. Through tonight, the fog should gradually spread inland. KCHS and KJZI should see ceilings develop below the inversion shortly after midnight. KSAV could see rounds of restrictive ceilings this evening, highlighted with a TEMPO from 2-6Z. Later tonight, guidance indicates that KCHS and KJZI will see LIFR fog and ceilings late tonight, remaining into the early daylight hours. Conditions are forecast to improve to VFR by mid-morning at KCHS and KSAV. However, rounds of showers may pass over KSAV Saturday afternoon along with MVFR ceilings.

Extended Aviation Outlook: Showers are possible at all terminals Saturday and Sunday, bringing the risk of both cig and vis restrictions at all three terminals.

MARINE
Tonight: A surface low and associated cold front across the MS Valley will slowly push eastward. South-southeast winds will veer slightly overnight, to south-southwest by morning. Wind speeds around 10-15 kt will gradually decrease to 10 kt or less.
Seas will average 2 to 4 feet with some 5 footers briefly entering the eastern zones of the Charleston nearshore waters and the offshore Georgia waters.

Saturday through Wednesday: Southerly flow generally around 10 to 15 knots will prevail through the weekend. A cold front is forecast to push through the region Monday, causing a shift and surge in winds.
S winds will shift to the W and eventually the NW by Tuesday morning, generally around 15 to 20 knots with some gusts in the low 20s. Seas should average 3 to 4 ft. Conditions at this juncture are forecast to remain below Small Craft Advisory criteria.

Sea Fog: View from web cams and reports from the CHS Harbor Pilot Office indicate that rounds of dense fog has developed across the Charleston Harbor this evening. Near term guidance indicates that the sea fog will continue to increase across the SC waters through the rest of the night. A marine Dense Fog Advisory has been issued north of the Savannah River, including the Charleston Harbor, for tonight.

There remains potential for sea fog development across the nearshore coastal waters through the rest of this weekend as dewpoints reach into the mid 60s across the cooler coastal waters. Tonight there is a small chance sea fog could develop across the nearshore southeast Georgia waters. However, the best window for sea fog formation appears to be Saturday afternoon into Sunday, with the risk decreasing by Sunday night. If trends persist, fog could need to be added to the forecast.

CHS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
GA...None.
SC...None.
MARINE...Dense Fog Advisory until 7 AM EST Saturday for AMZ330-350-352.

toggle option: (graph/table)

Clouter Creek
Click for Map
Fri -- 04:38 AM EST     0.42 feet Low Tide
Fri -- 07:04 AM EST     Sunrise
Fri -- 11:02 AM EST     Moonset
Fri -- 11:19 AM EST     5.98 feet High Tide
Fri -- 05:12 PM EST     Sunset
Fri -- 05:22 PM EST     0.94 feet Low Tide
Fri -- 09:06 PM EST     Moonrise
Fri -- 11:41 PM EST     4.71 feet High Tide
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION

Clouter Creek, north entrance, Cooper River, South Carolina, Tide feet

Charleston Harbor Entrance
Click for Map
Fri -- 01:42 AM EST     -1.83 knots Max Ebb
Fri -- 04:39 AM EST     0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 07:03 AM EST     Sunrise
Fri -- 07:10 AM EST     1.54 knots Max Flood
Fri -- 11:00 AM EST     -0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 11:01 AM EST     Moonset
Fri -- 02:19 PM EST     -2.05 knots Max Ebb
Fri -- 05:13 PM EST     Sunset
Fri -- 05:32 PM EST     0.00 knots Slack
Fri -- 07:37 PM EST     1.15 knots Max Flood
Fri -- 09:06 PM EST     Moonrise
Fri -- 11:06 PM EST     -0.00 knots Slack
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,