Columbus County NEWS Weather Update for Wednesday August 19, 2026.
This weather update is sponsored by Freedom Insurance of Whiteville. Trust Freedom Insurance to give you clear blue skies when it comes to home, car, boat, or whatever insurance you need. Let Freedom provide customized coverage to keep you and your family safe. Contact Freedom today at 910-640-2828!
Here’s today’s Bottom Line
Yesterday was the 15th day this summer (since June 1st) that we’ve been at or above 100 degrees in Whiteville.
Hopefully that’s the LAST day this meteorological summer (which ends August 31st) that we will be above the Misery Mark.
Heat advisory in place for today. What else is new, right? Heat index values 105-110. Which, when compared to the max heat index of a staggering 119.3°F that I measured on my weather station yesterday, is rather chilly. Break out the jackets!
But change is in the air. We just need to get through today and tomorrow before that change arrives.
A frontal boundary will be pushed into the Carolinas. Precisely where is up to some debate, but it’s looking like it will stall out somewhere over the central Carolinas, possibly along the I-95 corridor.
A deep, robust flow of tropical moisture pushes northeast over the area. This, combined with the front in place, will lead to the development of scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms Friday, Friday night, and especially on Saturday. Rainfall COULD reach or exceed flash flood guidance levels Friday for the areas outlined in yellow.
The National Blend of Models suggests that much of the county will receive a healthy dose of rainfall Friday through Sunday. This is going to be highly dependent upon where thunderstorms become established. Some areas might get very little rainfall, while others get crushed.
Severe threat at this time remains low… but storms will be capable of producing lots of lightning and, again, extremely heavy rainfall.
This front is pushed offshore by Monday with high pressure building, resulting in dry weather and temps cranking hotter again.
TROPICS: Quiet at this time. Some of the AI modeling is suggesting that something might come together next week, but that’s next week’s problem.
Here is your Freedom Insurance Today-plus-Five Forecast:
–Meteorologist Christopher Cawley
