Hot and humid weekend with sunshine and a couple of stray thunderstorms

Fairly standard summer weather is expected this weekend. It will be hot, humid and there will be a risk of thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening. That’s about what we expect most late July and early August afternoons in the whole area.

The thing most people will notice today is the heat – with Heat Index values around 100-105 in places this afternoon.

Overall chance of rain today is around 20-30%. Do not cancel any plan. The highest odds will be in parts of NE NC in the late afternoon and evening. Since it’s summer and there’s a lot of moisture in the air, any storm could quickly drop half an inch of rain in a downpour it brings.

If you go to the beach today, you might be shocked at how cool the water is, especially in northern OBX and southern Virginia Beach. Upwelling, where cooler, nutrient-rich water is brought to the surface, occurs. This occurs when a wind, often from the south or southwest, blows the warm, shallow layer of surface water away from the coast. When this happens, colder water replaces it from below. So for the beaches of Kitty Hawk, Southern Shore, Duck, Corolla, Carova Beach and Sandbridge, the water will probably be much cooler.