Everybody is talking about the weather, so I thought I might as well go with the flow — so to speak — and write about it this week.
It’s August, so it’s supposed to be hot — the “dog days” of summer and all that. However, if you think it’s been hotter than normal on Hatteras and Ocracoke and that this hot spell of weather has been going on for a really long time, you are correct.
“It’s been warm…definitely hotter than average,” says meteorologist David Glenn of the National Weather Service in Newport/Morehead City.
The normal high temperature at Cape Hatteras in early to mid-August is abut 84 or 85, according to the Weather Service. Temperatures this month have been running in the upper 80s — 88 or 89 routinely — with a few days over 90.
A couple of record highs have been noted, although Glenn says NWS staff members are looking more closely at the automated equipment at Billy Mitchell airfield to further verify the records.
It’s also been humid, as usual, making the weather out there pretty miserable for anyone who had to be out in the middle of the day, especially. For sure, the best place to be has been at the beach — but only if you could be under an umbrella or in the water.
Southern Hatteras hasn’t seen much rain. In fact, we are 1.35 inches below normal for the month of August down here.
Interestingly, though, we are still way above the normal rainfall year to date — thanks to the two tropical storms that dumped record amounts on the southern areas of the island around Memorial Day. The normal rainfall year to date is 34.05 inches. At Billy Mitchell, 49.06 inches has been measured since Jan. 1 — 15 inches above normal.
Since late yesterday, all the weather talk on the island has been about the huge waterspout that formed over the Pamlico Sound near the Bodie Island Lighthouse a little after 4 p.m. on Thursday.
According to local reports, the waterspout formed southwest of the lighthouse and near the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center and lasted for about 10 minutes — during which time it was filmed and photographed by dozens of folks who posted on social media.
David Glenn said that it was “definitely larger than your normal waterspout.”
However, the Weather Service, he explained, didn’t pick it up on its radar, which is not unusual since waterspouts form in lower levels of the atmosphere than tornadoes.
No damage was reported from yesterday’s waterspout, though it will keep folks talking for a few days.
The waterspout was associated with a strong thunderstorm and high winds in the area. At 4:28 yesterday afternoon, the Weather Service had a report of a 72 mph wind gust at Oregon Inlet.
The forecast is for a stormy weekend on the Outer Banks, thanks to a trough of low pressure in the area. There’s a 60 percent chance of rain on Saturday and 40 percent on Sunday. It is also forecast to be slightly cooler Saturday — high of 85 — with the cloud cover, but then the temperature is expected to climb back to 88 on Sunday.
A cold front will cross the area on Monday and we can expect some relief from the heat and humidity, beginning on Tuesday. Highs next week are forecast in the low to mid-80s.
We can look forward to a taste of autumn — however brief — here on the islands, but fall is still weeks away. And we can’t end a discussion of the weather without mentioning that we are now at the peak of the hurricane season.
“The tropics are trying to get a little more active, and we are keeping an eye on them,” says Glenn.
Tropical Storm Fiona, he said, will fizzle out south of Bermuda and will not be an issue for the U.S. at all.
However, two tropical waves are coming off Africa that bear watching. According to the National Hurricane Center, the first one has a 50 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression by early next week as it moves westward in the low latitudes of the tropical Atlantic.
The Hurricane Center says the second wave will move off the coast of Africa tomorrow and that environmental conditions will become more conducive for development as the wave heads generally west-northwest. They’re giving it a 30 percent chance for development in the next five days.
Ironically, though most of us complain about the heat, it does, in a way, keep tropical storms away.
The hot and humid weather, in simple terms, is caused by a high pressure area — known as a Bermuda high — that parks itself over the southeast. This big dome of high pressure protects us from approaching storms, which are steered around the edges of it.
However, as the high breaks down and the cold fronts move through, there is always the opportunity for a low pressure area — in the form of a tropical storm — to slip in along the coast.
To keep up with the latest from the tropical Atlantic, go to http://www.weather.gov/mhx/Tropical.
A WORD ABOUT RIP CURRENTS
While we are on the topic of the weather, it’s worth mentioning the danger of rip currents here at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
This week the National Park Service issued a news release to remind the public of the dangers that rip currents pose to visitors along the seashore.
Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore that quickly pull swimmers out to sea, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rip currents account for more than 80 percent of rescues performed by surf beach lifeguards.
In the past month, there have been three swimming-related fatalities off Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches, and all three have been associated with rip currents in the area.
Many visitors to the seashore, especially those not accustomed to ocean swimming, are unfamiliar with how dangerous the ocean can be. Swimmers should not fear it but should respect it.
The Park Service also notes that at Cape Point, two major ocean currents converge, making it a very popular location for surf fishing and shelling.
During the majority of the summer, a sandbar located off Cape Point has been above water — forming a sort of island — and visitors have enjoyed venturing out to it. Recently, as currents and tides have increased, Hatteras Island Ocean Rescue has assisted numerous people who were in distress after attempting to reach the sandbar. The speed of the currents and water depths are often too great for many people to navigate, the Park Service says.
The best way to stay safe in ocean water off the seashore is to recognize the danger of its currents, especially rip currents.
If you find yourself caught in a rip current, do not fight it. Swim parallel to the shore and swim back to land at an angle. The National Weather Service has an extremely helpful web page detailing how to avoid getting caught in a rip current at http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov.
