Check out the Leonids Meteor shower during the first part of the week.  Peak viewing is about 2 hours before sunrise on Tuesday and Wednesday.  You can expect around 10 meteors per hour during peak viewing.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off for a mission to the International Space Station.  A great liftoff and terrific crew that will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in orbit.

Hope you are having a great week.  Busy here in the Storm Center getting the holiday schedules set.  Lots of exciting things coming in December along with parades, parties, etc.  Thanksgiving is next week and we’re already looking at the weather for the holiday for us.  We’ll update it as we get closer on the broadcasts.  Don’t forget Debi’s Kids when you’re out shopping at local Walmarts and try to drop a new, unwrapped toy in the box if you can.

Lights of Love for the Ronald McDonald house is Tuesday the 24th and I hope you can help us out.  Every year we raise money for the “House that Love Built.”  It’s a place for families to stay while their children are treated for some tough medical problems at our wonderful MUSC Children’s Hospital.  Only a 10 dollar donation buys a light which helps keep our families warm and safe why the kids are getting better.  The website is www.rmhcharleston.org.

Have a great week and I hope you can join us for tonight’s broadcast.

Bill

Well, Ida is history, but the moisture is left over and that means rain for us into the middle of the week.  The late season tropical weather system came ashore around 6:30 a.m. eastern on Tuesday and will continue to bring mostly rain to the Lowcountry and midlands.  By Thursday, the low will redevelop off the coast of the Carolinas and we’ll see improving weather for the weekend.

We salute our veterans on Wednesday, Veterans Day.  I will be talking to the kids at Sullivans Island Elementary School about serving in the military and what that is like.  I will also be making a visit to the Veterans Hospital downtown. 

Keep our vets in mind and remember their sacrifice for our nation this week.  I hope you can join us for tonight’s broadcasts at 4,5,6,7 and 11. 

It’s rare, but it does happen from time to time…Hurricane Warnings continue along the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Ida continues to march northward to a landfall along the Alabama and Florida coastline.

(Image Courtesy: Weather Underground)

The latest recon reports from the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters has shown that Ida has weakened a bit more since midnight. Winds have fallen to 80mph and the pressure is up slightly to 993mb. The satellite pics of Ida over the past 12 hours have shown a hurricane being sheared by strong southwest winds as well as one being affected by cooler ocean temps. There is a threshold of around 80 degree sea surface temp that is needed to maintain a hurricane. The water Ida is moving into now is in the low 70s, to near 70 along the coast. That is not warm enough to supply the heat needed to keep Ida at her current strength.

I anticipate we will see a transformation begin later today that will weaken Ida to a tropical storm. As the cooler ocean temps and winds aloft take their toll, we will watch the storm take on more an more of an extratropical appearance. Ida may hold on to tropical features just long enough to make landfall as a tropical storm, but should transform fairly quickly. The winds and the rain will be the same whether its tropical or not though. The big question is what are we going to see here in the Lowcountry.

(Image Courtesy: SFWMD)

Most of the reliable tropical models bring Ida inland over southern Alabama and then turn her eastward across southern Georgia and northern Florida. Some of the models bring Ida through the Lowcountry as a remnant low. On the current path, Ida will begin to bring showers back to the region by late Tuesday morning and more into the afternoon. Winds will begin to pick up out of the southeast as the low approaches late on Tuesday. Showers and rain will also begin to increase overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Some of the rain could be heavy at times and some could get 1-3″ or more of wet stuff before we dry out on Thursday. Winds will reach gale force in the harbor and offshore. Tides will be above normal and some moderate coastal erosion is possible.

There is still a good bit of uncertainty in the Wednesday-Thursday forecast as the final track of Ida is still unclear. Once a landfall is made, more confidence in our impacts will be seen. Stay tuned to Live 5 for the latest updates and forecast on Ida and what we can expect here.

Chad Watson
Live 5 Meteorologist

Category 2 Hurricane Ida continues churning in the Gulf of Mexico tonight and will threaten the Gulf States by Monday night.  Hurricane watches and warnings have been posted as Ida is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane.  While its not uncommon to track a tropical system in November, it is uncommon to have a Category 2 hurricane bearing down on the U.S.  The current track takes Ida into southern Alabama then turning east towards Georgia as a cold front moves into the southeast.  By this time the storm will have been downgraded to a depression, but its slow movement may bring flooding rains to parts of the Southeast.

Here in the Lowcountry, we can expect rain and some gusty winds as early as Tuesday and continuing until maybe Thursday.  Also, rough surf and rip currents are possible along with some beach erosion.  We’ll of course keep you updated over the next few days and let you know if there is any change in the track of Ida.  Have a great Monday !!

Brad

So, what is the “perfect” forecast??  For some it’s comfortable, dry weather with little to no humidity.  Well, this week is a winner!!  A big area of high pressure will build in and we’re talking fabulous sunshine with highs in the lower 70′s all week and lows in the comfortable 40′s and 50′s.

We met a lot of great folks at the Coastal Carolina Fair on Thursday and Friday.  Many asked when “fall” was coming to the Lowcountry and clearly it has arrived!   Enjoy this weather as we move though a good looking election day on Tuesday and week ahead for the fair and football at the end of the week.

Join us at the fair on Thursday evening for the 5 and 6 p.m. broadcasts and then on CHANNEL 5 NIGHT on Friday when all of us will be out there from LIVE 5 NEWS.

I hope you can join us for our other broadcasts as well throughout the week at 4,5,6, 7 & 11.   

For some reason, when we switch into November, it seems like the entire weather pattern changes.  I believe we see the most significant change this month as opposed to any other month of the year.  Hurricane season for the most part is over, our area usually experiences its first significant cold snap, and several parts of the U.S. sees its first snowfall of the year.  In other words, winter is on the way.  While we here in the south may not “see” as much winter as others, the heat and humidity is gone for the next several months.  Hard to say what to expect for the upcoming winter, but generally during an “El Nino” year, the southeast is cooler and wetter than normal.

Hopefully by now, you have turned your clocks back now that we are in Daylight Saving Time.  While it will be dark around 5:30 in the evening, mornings will be much easier to deal with as the sun will be up around 6:30 am.

Alrigth, time to get a few things done around here in the StormCenter so I can catch some of the Yankees game.  Yea, I’m a Yankees fan – but I’ve always been a Yankees fan.  Growing up in New Jersey, I can still remember going to my first game in the late 70′s and have been to several after that.  Still haven’t been to the new Yankee Stadium, but hope to attend a game there next year.  Have a great Monday !!

Brad