COLUMBIA, S.C. — Weak cold-air damming will likely set up today, resulting in widespread rain, drizzle, and cooler-than-average temperatures. The weekend will be drier and warmer. Temperatures will gradually warm early next week.
Widespread clouds and persistent rain are forecast today as cold air damming forms across the region. High pressure centered over the central Carolinas will maintain a cool, stable air mass near the ground, resulting in cold-air damming.
This setup will bring continuous rain and drizzle, especially along and north of I-20, where temperatures will likely stay between the lower 50s. It will be a little warmer in the southern half of the Midlands.
Later in the day, a cold front and an associated low-pressure system will move through, bringing an end to precipitation by the evening. Skies will gradually clear as dry, cool air moves in, helping temperatures to drop into the mid-40s by morning.
Conditions will improve as a coastal low and upper trough move offshore on Friday, ushering in a much drier air mass with northwesterly winds across the forecast area. With high pressure building in, temperatures will return to more seasonable levels. Expect highs in the mid to upper 60s under mostly clear skies, with no rain in the forecast Friday through Saturday.
Overnight lows will likely dip into the lower 40s, with some outlying areas seeing upper 30s, particularly in the western Midlands, where radiational cooling could be stronger.
As we head into early next week, dry weather will persist with a steady warming trend. Highs could reach into the middle 70s by Monday and Tuesday.
However, uncertainty arises midweek as tropical moisture from the Gulf may move northward into the Southeast. Forecast models suggest a potential increase in atmospheric moisture, possibly bringing higher chances of rain by midweek, though exact timing remains uncertain.