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Strong Storms Possible in the Lowcountry Tuesday Afternoon and Evening

Update Tuesday 2:30 PM ET: A Tornado Watch has been issued by the National Weather Service until 9:00 PM EST. The watch includes the following counties in South Carolina: Allendale, Charleston, Hapton, Beaufort, Colleton, Jasper, Berkeley, and Dorchester.

Update Tuesday 2 pm ET: Forecasters at the National Weather Service have upgraded the risk area to “slight” (or level two out of five) for areas of the Lowcountry including the cities of Charleston, Hilton Head Island, Ridgeland, and Allendale.

The most likely arrival time of any strong storms to the Lowcountry would be between 4 and 8 pm Tuesday evening.  

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A few strong thunderstorms, capable of producing damaging winds and hail, are expected in the Lowcountry Tuesday afternoon and evening.

Locations near and southwest of Charleston have the greatest chance of a strong storm developing beginning Tuesday afternoon. Forecasters at the National Weather Service have designated the risk as “marginal” across the Lowcountry. A “slight” (or level two out of five) risk is in place right along the border to northern Georgia.

On Monday a large storm system was seen developing over the Rocky Mountains, and was joining forces with a warm front stretched across the Gulf Coast. Clusters of severe storms are expected to form along and ahead of the front from Kansas to Mississippi Monday night, spreading east into portions of Alabama and Georgia Tuesday.

The main concern for Tuesday will be the exact path of the low pressure system and the potential for severe weather along the warm front boundary and ahead of the cold front following behind.

Overnight Monday and into Tuesday skies will become mostly cloudy as the low pressure system moves east into southern Georgia with the warm front expected to set up close to the Florida border. The greatest threat for a strong thunderstorm will be in extreme southern portions of the Lowcountry where the air is much warmer.

The showers and thunderstorms are expected to first arrive in the southwestern parts of the state, near cities like Greenville, Anderson and Greenwood, Tuesday afternoon. It will then spread east towards cities like Hampton, Jackson and Fairfax by the late afternoon, followed by southeastern areas towards Hilton Head Island.

Showers and thunderstorms will exit out into the Atlantic overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. A high pressure will build into the area allowing for cooler and drier conditions for the next few days.