A powerful cold front sweeping through the Carolinas Wednesday afternoon and night will produce high wind and a line of strong storms.
While Wednesday will start fairly calm, winds will gradually pick up through the morning and peak in the afternoon. and evening.
Winds just a few thousand feet above the ground will blow in excess of 60 mph. Thanks to the temperatures soaring into the 70s, some of those winds will be transported to the surface.
During the afternoon and evening, expect winds across the entire area to be sustained at 20-30 mph with wind gusts exceeding 40 mph. Once the front passes Wednesday night, winds will gradually subside.
Most of Wednesday will be dry with only a small chance of a shower. A line of storms will move into the Upstate of South Carolina late in the afternoon and roll through our area during the evening. We have an extraordinary amount of wind shear overhead, but limited instability. Typically in a high shear/ow instability scenario, we get very little severe weather. If we experience any, the primary threat would be damaging straight-line winds.
As far as timing goes, the line will move through the Pee Dee and Border Belt between 8pm-11pm and the Grand Strand between 10pm -12am.
Because the line is coming through well after sunset, it will be weakening as it moves through the area. The severe weather threat across the Pee Dee and Border Belt is small and extremely small to non-existent for the Grand Strand.
The rest of the week will feature more sunshine and seasonably chilly with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.
Some school districts decided to dismiss early, click here to see that list.
