Well…more of the same weather!  Hazy, hot and humid and the weekend will bring the same with slightly less chance of showers and thunderstorms.

With all the rain over the last few days, we’ve seen some isolated flooding; so keep an eye if they develop over areas that have been rained on over and over.

Pretty crazy day here in the storm center.  We’ve been running tests of our generator and the power crashed our weather systems just before the four o’clock show.  You know what I’m talking about when your computer reboots or you loose power.  Imagine that with 10 computers!!   Hats off to our IT guru Shelby engineers Mike, John and Lowell. 

Our new weather system is amazing though.  Wait until you see it in HD!  Coming in September as they continue to rebuild our station with new equipment to accomplish this goal of being the first in the Lowcountry to go ALL HD NEWS!! 

Hope you’re having a great summer.  August starts tomorrow and the summer is flying by.  Tropics have quieted down a bit, but remain active and I think our August and September will be busy given the water temperatures, environmental conditions in the Atlantic and lack of El Nino.

Okay, time to get ready for the broadcast which I hope you can join us for this evening and don’t forget your weather update at 11 before turning in.

Best…

Bill

Our typical weather continues into the middle and end of the week!! What more can we say, muggy and steamy with highs in the 90’s.

It’s so hot even the fish are sweating.

Some pop-up showers and thunderstorms will be around today and tomorrow with a weak trough trying to push south.  Highs in the lower 90’s into the weekend.

Well, Bryce Donovan from the Post and Courier has been here and he is doing a ”High Profile” on yours truly which will run in Saturday’s newspaper.  So, if you’re interested in knowing more about what our daily routine is like behind the scenes, check out the paper this Saturday.

I was proud to swear in a new member of the Air Force Reserve.  I administered the oath to Phillip Sommers who will be a crew chief for the C-17.  Phillip is a neighbor and we’re all proud of him and wish him well.

Our HD transition is coming along.  Look for LIVE 5 in HD starting in late September.  We’ll be the FIRST all HD news operation in the state!

Okay, got to get back to the broadcast.  Thanks for reading and we’ll see you tonight at 11 on LIVE 5 NEWS.  (Don’t go to bed before watching for tomorrow’s weather!!)

Bill 

Just like an old 80s sitcom, today will be a rerun of yesterday.  Heat Advisory goes into effect again today at Noon and will continue until 7 PM.  Scattered thunderstorms will redevelop this afternoon and will have the potential to produce torrential rain, frequent lightning and gusty winds.  Looks like our weather will remain unsettled through Friday, before the high heat returns for the weekend.

Tropics for the moment remain quiet, but the National Hurricane Center continues to advertise the possibility of our next depression forming later today off the coast of Africa.  Either way, no effect on our weather, but just something to watch over the next week or so.

J. Chad will be back in the StormCenter tomorrow morning and of course you can catch me again this weekend.  Time for me to catch up on some shut eye.  Have a great Wednesday everyone and watch out for those storms later on !!

Well, first we’ll talk about our weather then I’ll give you a few thoughts from my trip to Denver on Air Force duty.

 Storms fired off again today with over an inch and a half of rainfall in many areas.  These were sea breeze type of storms that are very common this time of year.  The problem comes when they don’t move very fast or much dumping tropical rains over the same area causing some flooding issues and lots of lightning.

We’ll see more afternoon showers and thunderstorms on Wednesday and with an approaching trough of low pressure on Thursday. 

Try tracking it online with our new interactive radar!  It’s radar YOU control and is awesome.

Okay…now for some other stuff.  Just back last evening from Denver where I had to attend some Air Force meetings.  Our meetings went well and we have some amazing people who serve this nation in the Air Force Reserve and I’m proud to be apart of it all.

I did have a notable dinner experience that was one for the books!  On the suggestion of one of my Air Force peers, Jeff, we went to this Mexican restaurant called Cafe Bonita in Denver.  The place looked a little like a Mexican Chuck E Cheese from the outside.  On the inside, it looked like a Vegas buffet line as you make your way deeper and deeper into this maze of caverns where you order first.  After ordering, you continue to sink lower into this maze of rooms.  While descending, we pick up our dinners on a tray.  Just then a plate came falling from a table above and smashed on the floor right in our path which I promptly stepped in.  My sneakers were now a mix of tacos and rice with a side of black beans.  The TSA guy at the airport wanted to ban me from the flight the next day it stunk so bad!!

We were finally seated in this dark looking cave that was around 100 degrees with these weird things hanging from the roof that looked a little like the underside of a cow!

In other parts of the restaurant, actors performed for the dining public.  At one point the actors stand high atop a cavern and dive about thirty feet into a pool while people cheer them on apparently taking their mind off the taste of the food and the service.

In its hay-day, back in the early 70’s, the place was probably pretty neat.  It’s still cute for the kids or anyone who might want a fun experience while not caring too much for the food and drink.  Oh, sorry, we only had one soda.  The guy serving us disappeared into the cave only to be seen hours later trying to find our checks.

Jeff took a lot of heat for his suggestion from the crew and our big boss.  He’s now clearing ice from the runways in the Aleutian Islands!

You know its going to be hot when you come into the StormCenter at 3:30 in the morning and the temperature outside is still 80 degrees. Not much relief from the heat and humidity over the next few days. Another Heat Advisory goes into effect at noon today and continues until 7 PM. The heat index will once again be in the triple digits for much of the afternoon. Scattered storms will dot the landscape much like we saw on Monday and a few of these storms will produce heavy rain due to their slow movement.

Some changes to the overall weather pattern will take place later in the week. We’ll see a better chance for rain on Thursday and Friday and with the added cloud cover, temperatures will be more tolerable.

Anyway, thats about it for today. The tropics remain quiet and it looks like we’ll make it through July without any more named storms. Chief Meteorologist Bill Walsh returns to work this evening and J. Chad will be back in the weather chair on Thursday. Have a great day everyone and stay cool !!

Brad Miller

Live 5 Meteorologist

Well the dog days of summer are here.  Climatologically this is the hottest week of the year.  What this means is that from this point on, our normal high temperature begins to fall from the low 90s.  This doesn’t mean we can’t see triple digit heat in August, but at least we know that intense heat becomes less of an issue in the coming months. 

A Heat Advisory remains in effect until 7 PM and will most likely be reissued on Tuesday.  Afternoon storms still are possible, but the high heat and humidity are the bigger story as high temperatures soar into the mid 90s and heat indices top out around 105 degrees.

The tropics are quiet and expected to remain this way through the end of the week.  Our next name on the list by the way is Edouard.

That’s it for Monday, hope you have a great start to the work week.  We’ll see you tomorrow.

Brad Miller

Live 5 Meteorologist

Well, the weather is quiet once again today with high pressure in control and hazy and typical July weather on tap.  Dolly is a depression after a pretty strong strike against Texas and Mexico.  There is a new wave just off the coast of Africa that we’ll be watching over the next few years.

Bryce Donovin visited the Storm Center today to write a “high profile” piece for a future Saturday edition of the Post and Courier.  We’ll let you know when it runs, but it’s always great to see Bryce and we wish him well on his new marrage.

Thanks to the South Carolina Aquarium for giving me a look at their new “Camp Carolina” exibit today.  Wow, what a great job and nice exibit that includes a gorgeous American Bald Eagle named “Liberty!”  It’s something else and to see such a great symbol of America in person is fabulous and time well spent.

Well, off to Denver Colorado for some Air Force duty for the next four days.  I’ve never been to Denver and I’ll see how the weather is out there and let you know back on our blog next Tuesday when I return to the air. 

Have a great and safe weekend. 

Calm but warm weather is returning to the Lowcountry and now that Dolly is inland over Texas, we shift our attention back to the waters to our east and all is looking fine here this morning. The peak of the hurricane season is still over a month away and we are ready for the “E” storm…Edouard. When will he arrive?

(Image Credit - Weather Underground) Visible Satellite Image of INVEST97

INVEST 97:
The visible pics of our large tropical wave over the eastern Atlantic this morning is not impressive at all. The circulation is very large and the center is devoid of any thunderstorms. The disturbance is also moving over cooler water, which is not favorable for development. Most of our forecast models do not develop this into a depression or beyond. All the forecast track guidance does show a northward turn to the central Atlantic in a few days due to the northward current position. We don’t expect any problems with 97 at all.

Atlantic Basin:
The rest of the Atlantic basin, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean is fairly quiet. There are a few flare ups here and there along the ITCZ but thats about it. We do note that the long range GFS model does try and develop a system near Africa in about 5 days from a large wave but only time will tell.

Close To Home:
The end of the week and the weekend look great! Stay Cool and enjoy it!

Chad Watson
Live 5 Meteorologist

Well, Hurricane Dolly smashed into southeast Texas and is a reminder to all of us that this hurricane season is off to a busy start.  The peak of the season is not until September 10th and we’re already looking at some pretty strong storms.  Bertha was a catagory three, major hurricane, briefly in her long life. 

 It reminds all of us to be ready and have a hurricane plan to execute if we need to. 

btw….we just upgraded our entire weather storm center with the newest technology in HD weather.  We’re not showing the true HD just yet, but in September, our entire news operation will go HD!!  That’s amazing and the first in the state.  Imagine Bill Sharpe in HD!!  Wow, it’s a lot of money we’re spending to bring you the newest television available.  1.6 million in the last few weeks alone!

 Also note our WEB site has CHANGED!!  New interactive radar and hurricane tracker.  Check out that radar.  You control it.  More to come too.

 Time to get ready for the broadcast.  Busy day today.  Might drop by the aquarium tomorrow to see what’s new there before coming to the station in the afternoon.  Kids are still out of school!

 I will update this blog daily now, so feel free to shoot me pictures or other things that you want to pass on and that we can put on the air.  Have a great night!

Yesterday we were looking at the low off our coastline but that has now dissipated. So the attention turns toward the southern Atlantic, east of the the Lesser Antilles. The latest satellite pictures show a well developed system very near depression strength. The latest QUIKSCAT scans missed the disturbance, labeled 94L by the NHC. If it does become a depression it will be #3. I imagine that will happen around the 11am advisory time after we have time to look at the system on the visible satellite and get some new data in.

(Image Credit: NOAA/NHC) Enhanced Infrared Floater - 94L

We will continue to keep and eye on this and talk more about the forecast plots later this morning when some new data is available.

Chad Watson
Live 5 Meteorologist