Another wet day for the Lowcountry looks to be on the way.  An area of low pressure located just off the Georgia coast will continue to feed moisture into the region.  This means more clouds and rain for us on Sunday.  High pressure will begin to build into the area by Monday and that will provide us with a nice stretch of weather later in the week.

While it is the weekend, this rain is very beneficial.  Rainfall for the year is still about 7 inches below normal.  However, our rain deficit is nothing compared to the drought like conditons that continue across the upstate and other areas around the southeast.

Tropics still quiet for now, but we may have a few areas to monitor heading into the new week.  Enjoy your Sunday and catch the Live 5 Weather Team now in HD each and every newscast .

Brad

After a very nice stretch of weather, it looks like showers and storms will be around over the next few days. A slow moving upper level low will keep things unsettled unfortunately into the weekend. Right now it looks like Sunday will be drier than Saturday, but it doesn’t look like we’ll see weather like we saw last weekend.

Tropics still on the quiet side and we don’t see much on the horizon over the next few days. Remember, hurricane season continues through November.

Just a quick update tonight. Chad is back in the StormCenter in the morning and I’ll catch everyone this weekend. Hopefully, I’ll have better news on the forecast. Have a great Friday !!

You can usually count on some of the best weather of the year across the Lowcountry in early and mid October.  Low humidity, comfortable temperatures, and not much going on in the tropics.  This week won’t be much different.  We’ve enjoyed some nice afternoons lately while overnight lows have been generally in the 50s.  We may see a few showers later this week, but for the most part, looks like we are setting up for a dry pattern across the area over the next week or so.  This is typical for October as the overall weather pattern begins it’s transition from summer to winter.  Storm tracks remain well north of the region, while deep tropical moisture is supressed well to the south. 

Just got back from Disney on Friday.  Still the happiest place on Earth.  The parks were relatively quiet.  Not sure if it was just the right time to go or if the economy is really that bad.  Anyway, as with any vacation, it was fun, but you’re always glad to be back home.  That’s it for today.  Enjoy some great football on the Mighty 5 and don’t forget, all of our newscasts are now in HD.  What a difference !!  Have a great Sunday night and Monday !!

Brad

Wow…9/29 is here and so is High Definition!!  We are so proud of our company and engineering team to make LIVE 5 NEWS the FIRST high definition news product in the Lowcountry.

This is a step forward into the future of television.  First there was black & white, then color, now high definition. 

Our company spent millions, literally, to make us the first to cross this threshold.  Our weather is now clearer, bigger and the best looking technology available.  We are committed to bringing you the best storm coverage in the Southeast and now in H.D.!

We hope you join us for the broadcasts tonight.  I will be in the new HD control room at 7 and 11!  That should be fun.  We even have new make-up to wear.  They had to teach us to use a “make up gun!”  I was afraid I would shoot make-up all over the dressing room.  Thankfully, I only shot it on the mirror and some on myself! 

Remember, DTV is different from HD.  DTV is “digital television” and refers to the actual signal that carries our station.  HD is the “quality” of the picture and much more fine and crisp with real life colors and looks.

We’ll see you tonight, in HIGH DEFINITION!

Bill

Seems like Fall was right on schedule this year!  We’ve been much cooler than normal.  Our normal high is 84 and we’ve been in the 60’s with clouds and windy conditions. 

Look for this coastal storm to move inland tonight.  The storm is not tropical as such because it’s more of a “cold core” storm similar to a “noreaster.”  A tropical system is warm core and the convection and energy rotates around the center or core of the storm.  In this case, the energy fans out and is not central to the core. 

Bottom line is that it’s still a big mess for the beaches and the rivers with beach erostion, higher tides and gusty winds.  Should be weakening into the end of the week and better weather is on the way for the weekend!

 Busy visiting schools and meetings.  The schools are much more fun than the meetings! lol

Looking forward to some high school football on Friday night and the college games into the weekend which should be good as far as weather.  Might have to jump in the boat for a bit this weekend as well.

Time to get ready for the broadcast which we hope you join us for tonight during the evening shows and back here again before you go to bed at 11!  LIVE 5 NEWS in HIGH DEFINITION is just days away starting on Monday!!

Best…

Bill

A coastal storm developing east of Wilmington, North Carolina will keep things on the windy side for the next 24 to 48 hours as it drifts west.  This is not tropical as of yet, but may become a tropical or subtropical system as it drifts westward. 

We’ll see windy conditions, beach erosion, high tides and strong rip currents.  Thursday will bring a better chance of showers, especially along the north coastal counties.  Highs will be in the lower to mid 70’s.

We will keep you advised on this storm here and on the air during our broadcasts tonight.

Busy couple of days with Air Force duty and Channel 5 weathercasts.  The Charleston Air Force Base honored our POW/MIA’s over the last few days and was a great tribute to those who served and suffered for our country and freedoms.  I was honored to meet some of these great people and wish them well.  It’s important that we take care of our veterans and our local VA does a fantastic job at that.

Getting ready to go “HD” on Monday!!  That means if you have a high definition television, you will see a great difference in the picture quality of our newscasts.  We will be the FIRST station to go “HD” in the Charleston market.  It really is an amazing difference when you look at HD.  We even had to have special make-up lessons and they gave us these little spray guns to spray the stuff on your face.  They’re small, little devices that use a power box and spray a “make-up mist” all over the face.  In Bill Sharpe’s case, we had to get him a Wagner Power Sprayer!! 

Should be fun on Monday with the new look, logo and HD.  Hope you tune in for that and, of course, tonight as we keep track of that pesty coastal storm.

Have a great night!

Bill

Not much change to our weather this upcoming week.  We are in for a lot of clouds and showers as waves of low pressure pass just east of the Lowcountry.  In fact, by midweek, we could be looking at a fairly strong area of low pressure developing just offshore.  This Nor’easter type storm may provide the coastal areas with rain and gale force winds.  We’ll have to watch and see how the computer models handle this setup.

The tropics will have to continue to be monitored this week.  In fact the hurricane hunters investigated an area of disturbed weather in the eastern Caribbean today, but could not find a closed circulation, so it is still classified as an open wave.  Conditions may become more favorable for development on Monday and this system may be upgraded to a tropical depression.  Still too early to say where this system is headed, but we’ll continue to watch and have an update on Monday.

J. Chad is back in the saddle in the morning.  I’ll be here in the StormCenter working on WeatherBug upgrades as we continue to move towards our switch to HD next week.  9-29 watch for it !!  Have a great Monday !!

Brad

Our weekend is looking okay right now, but the forecast is touchy because of a weak weather system off shore.  If this front stays more east we’ll see a nice Saturday and a few clouds Sunday with a slight chance of showers.  If it drifts back towards the coast, we’ll see more in the way of clouds and a few showers.  Highs should stay cooler than normal in the upper 70’s to near 80.

I am going to be traveling to Rhode Island and Attleboro Massachusetts working on a story for the show.  The story has to do with a lost high school ring that was found 28 years later and returned to the school.  The principle there had just taken over from his last job as vice principle of Bishop England here in Charleston.  When the ring was returned to the school, the principal saw the name and called who he thought was the owner.  That person was me! 

I lost my ring right after getting it back in 1980.  The ironic part is that Bill Runey became Principal of my old school and the ring was found and returned to him. 

I will let you know when we’ll be running the story on the long lost high school ring.  Meanwhile, it should be rather chilly up in those parts this weekend and I’ll report back here on Monday what type of weather we had and, I’m sure, many stories from my old stomping grounds.

Have a great weekend!

 Bill

A cold front is producing showers and thunderstorms into tonight, but will usher in some cooler weather for midweek and the end of the week.

Look for highs near 80 to a few upper 70’s as the week goes on with on and off showers as cooler air works in from the northeast (the old “Northeast Fetch!”) and moisture overides it in the mid and upper atmosphere.

So, bottom line, some showers and cooler weather as the week goes on. 

Quiet day today with a trip to the dentist.  You’ve got to wonder if you ever have dinner at a dentist’s house whether he or she would use those little blue napkins with the chain attached to keep you clean during supper. 

Getting busy here with some severe weather; so we’ll make this a short post.  We hope you join us for tonight’s broadcast as we watch some of that cooler weather head our way.

Bill

Fall officially starts next week; so it’s still technically summer.  It sure feels like it too!  Look for another warm day on Tuesday with more showers possible by afternoon as a cold front heads our way.

The good news is that we’ll see some cooler weather by Wednesday into the end of the week with highs near 80.  Overnight lows into the weekend will be in the 60’s.  The chance of showers is highest for Wednesday and Thursday while diminishing into the weekend.

The tropics are quiet for a change.  Two waves to watch, but conditions are not favorable for development at this time, but we’ll be keeping an eye on it.

Busy day today visiting St. Johns school in North Charleston as they celebrated Grandparent’s Day.  What a gem of a school with wonderful kids and faculty.   Quiet weekend at the house trying to catch up on some cleaning which is really never caught up.  Had some laughs at Chad’s house on Saturday night as we found some old tapes of Hurricane Hugo and coverage of the storm.  I was on Channel 4 at the time and looked about 10 years old!  Charlie Hall was looking good and always ready to bring a strong, but calm voice in the storm.  That’s something I try to take to my broadcasts, but no one could do it as well as Charlie could.

We’ll share some of this with you when the 20th anniversary of Charleston’s storm of the century comes around next year.  Might try to sneak in some shots on the upcoming 19th anniversary!

 After a hair cut from Donnie at Causey’s in Mt. Pleasant, I’m ready for the broadcasts tonight and we hope you join us during the evening shows and back before you go to bed for a live update at 11.

Have a great night and Tuesday ahead.

Bill