WEATHER: Temperature drop relatively slight; thunderstorms predicted again

In case you haven't noticed, it's still downright toasty outside.

A cold front will impact the Lowcountry over the next few days, said meteorologist Steve Rowley of the National Weather Service. However, it will only bring a sliver of relief to the area, with only slightly lower temperatures.

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The weather service today once more issued an excessive heat warning for the coast from Charleston into Georgia. Temperatures in the upper 90s combined with high humidity to make it feel like triple digits. Severe weather is expected south and west of Charleston this afternoon and evening -- with thunderstorms with potentially damaging winds and lightning predicted, the weather service reports.

Despite the heat, the mercury has not quite approached the record 104 degrees observed in August 1985. Rowley said the NWS does not keep track of heat indexes, which have climbed to nearly 115 degrees and prompted several excessive heat warnings this week.

One person feeling Friday's heat was FedEx truck driver Louis Weathers. As he made deliveries on King Street, his shirt was soaked with sweat, as well as the rag he had placed under his hat.

He said he tried to stay hydrated and suck up air conditioning while he went about his work but that unloading packages in the high temperatures "ain't no picnic."

If he had his choice, however, he'd even avoid that pleasant activity if it meant he could stay indoors.

Forecasters say high humidity from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic is exacerbating the Southern staple of summertime heat.

A Charleston city worker who helps the elderly said one woman ran up a $600 electric bill as her small, inefficient window air conditioner ran almost nonstop to keep up with the heat.

"It's absolutely unforgiving. We have never had heat like this," said Elizabeth Spencer, who runs the Elder Support Line for the Charleston police. She said she is getting 50 phones calls a day about elderly people struggling with the oppressive heat.

Friday was the 11th-straight day of a heat advisory or warning on the South Carolina coast, said Julie Packett, a weather service meteorologist in Charleston. She said the pattern is expected to continue through August.