First Forecast: Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay

Thursday will be a dry and mainly sunny day with only a few clouds moving across the sky by late in the fishing day. Temperatures will start off in the lower 60s for the 7:00 am take-offs and will climb into the mid-70s by the mid-afternoon hours. Winds will be out of the east at 5-10 to start but will increase up to 10-15 MPH by late morning. Dewpoints will be in the upper 50s throughout the day. Moonrise will be at 10:38 am and sets at 12:04 am, with illumination at 29.8%.

Friday will start off with mostly cloudy skies and a slight chance of a shower, but those rain chances will slowly rise throughout the fishing day. We’ll end up with a chance of showers and thunderstorms by the afternoon hours, getting up close to 50%. To go along with those rain chances, winds will be quite breezy at times, topping out at 10-15 MPH out of the southeast with gusts up to 25 MPH. Take-off temperatures will be in the mid-60s and will rise into the mid-70s for the daytime high. Dewpoints will be rising from the lower 60s to the mid-60s. Moonrise will be at 11:31 am and sets at 1:05 am, with illumination at 40.7%.

A small chance of showers and thunderstorms will remain possible as a warm front will begin to move northward in advance of a dynamic system that will be moving into the southeast on Saturday. Skies will be mostly cloudy with the chance of rain around 30% throughout the fishing day. Temperatures will start off in the mid-60s at take-off and rise into the upper 70s by the end of the fishing day. Dewpoints will be in the mid-60s all day long. Moonrise will be at 12:29 pm and sets at 2:03 am, with illumination at 52.3%.

That dynamic system pushes into South Carolina on Sunday, but the good news is that it holds off until well after the tournament and weigh-ins are through. Still, the weather will be unsettled and scattered showers and thunderstorms remain possible throughout the fishing day. Chance of rain will be around 40% during the day, but we’ll get a better idea on timing and confidence in coverage by the Saturday morning update. Temperatures will start off in the mid-60s and rise into the upper 70s for the high. Winds will be out of the south at 10-15 MPH with gusts up to 25 MPH possible at times. Dewpoints will remain in the mid-60s throughout the day. Moonrise will be at 1:33 pm and sets at 2:58 am, with illumination at 64.0%.

I’ll keep an eye on the forecast carefully, especially for Sunday. If that system just happens to move through Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia a little quicker than what the models are displaying, we may have increased thunderstorm chances with the possibility of a few strong storms. My next weather update will be out Saturday morning.