NOAA releases S.C. weather predictions for fall, winter

MORNING HEADLINES | Much of the country is likely to see warmer temperatures than usual this fall. It’s not surprising to meteorologists who have been monitoring the supercharged El Niño climate pattern that is building toward peak strength.

Coastal South Carolina is also looking at significantly high seasonal rain, which is in line with a typical El Niño year. The warm weather and rainy outlook are likely to blend to form strong storms and high temperatures.

Residents may already be feeling early El Niño effects. Scattered storms are developing across the state today continuing into the evening while feels-like temperatures may reach the triple digits. Primary threats will be damaging winds, heavy rain and frequent lightning in affected areas. Despite the potential for severity, most areas of the state should remain dry.

National forecasters said last week the chance of a very strong El Niño grew to over 90%. There’s a 75% chance it will be the strongest El Niño since 1950. The weather pattern brings unusually warm surface water temperatures, weakening winds and other atmospheric changes.

National experts also warn of a potential energy crisis as global demand for cooling power grows during the hot season. At the same time the demand grows, some energy supply is also threatened, including wind and hydroelectric power.

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In today’s issue of the Charleston City Paper

CP OPINION: Congress must step up to regulate AI. “Artificial intelligence seems to be the high-fructose corn syrup and Red Dye No. 3 of today’s technology. Companies are in such a rush to develop the newest shiny thing involving AI that they seem to ignore increasing moral and practical warnings of potential downsides of the technologies.”

Hogan: The Halsey’s elegant, evocative exhibition mines Southern memory
CP CARTOON: Ariail: Spineless, brainless, directionless
CP CARTOON: Stegelin: Stages of midterm grief

CP COVER STORY: A guide to Charleston’s cultural heritage for newcomers. If you’ve just removed the real estate sign from the front of your new Charleston home, you’re a bona fide “comeya,” to borrow a popular Gullah assessment of recent arrivals. And it means you have some catching up to do.

CP NEWS: S.C. dodged a bullet for midterm elections, officials say. The long-simmering fight over voting in this fall’s midterm elections came to a rolling boil this week when the U.S. Supreme Court effectively killed President Trump’s plan to give the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) unprecedented control over mail-in ballots in all 50 states.

CP NEWS: New ACLU report is critical of S.C. juvenile justice system. Child advocates say the South Carolina juvenile justice system is failing the children who it is supposed to rehabilitate.

CP NEWS: Saving pollinators has small wins, but honeybee losses remain high. Despite numerous challenges facing pollinator populations, nationwide conservation efforts appear to be slowly paying off.

CP FOOD: Old World tavern Reenie’s to open in Hanahan. Chef Mark Bolchoz is building a restaurant empire under his Semper Elevatum Hospitality umbrella. In mid-November 2026, Bolchoz will open Reenie’s, an old-world tavern in the former Dashi space at 1262 Remount Road.

CP MUSIC: Symphony launches 2026-27 season with classics, collaborations. Classical music is just as varied as any genre you’d care to name. The Charleston Symphony’s 2026-27 season offers proof.

In other recent headlines

BREAKING: Early morning fight ends in triple shooting at Summerville restaurant. Summerville detectives are investigating a fight at Carolina Ale House that ended with three people hospitalized just after midnight Friday morning.

Charleston County School leaders are becoming substitute teachers. Hundreds of central office administrators in the Charleston County School District, including Superintendent Anita Huggins and other district leaders, will occasionally serve as substitute teachers in classrooms this year.

Resident survey takes aim at Lowcountry traffic. Longer and less predictable commutes are affecting work schedules, school pickups and, according to some residents, their ability to reach loved ones in emergencies.

Mount Pleasant weighs options for Faison Road land

A guide to this year’s Summerville Sweet Tea Festival. Sweet tea takes center stage in downtown Summerville on Saturday as the town’s annual Sweet Tea Festival returns with live music, food trucks, a tea-tasting contest, family-friendly activities and dozens of vendors.

Charleston needs more murals, artists say. What’s in the way? A proposed Public Arts Initiative would focus on creating a mural program, implementing new sculptures and creating more space for public art.

S.C. lawmakers struggling to regulate A.I. as its use, growth is expanding daily. Little artificial intelligence legislation has moved in the Statehouse, even as public concerns around the technology mount with residents.

CALENDAR: How to find cool things to do around town

Our online events calendar has scores of events around the Lowcountry every day, making it the most detailed calendar of what’s happening in the area. Just click on “Events” above at right under the black toolbar. You’ll be amazed at what you find.