News

Weathering the Summer Heat and Storms

Summertime in the south is hot. There is no doubt about that. The Earth tilts on its axis and the northern hemisphere is positioned in more direct alignment with the sun. This causes the days to be longer and hotter. Some days are beautiful in the high 70’s and low 80’s while others can be down right brutal.

Luckily, we live on the coast and can visit the ocean to stay cool. Make sure to bring a nice shade device to lounge under. Even when you feel cool and hydrated the sun can be frying you. It’s also a good idea to wear some sort of sun protection.

Storms

Storms have already kicked up this year and we’ve seen some doozies. The most active time of year in the Atlantic is summer and early fall. This is when the natural swirling affect of the Earth’s spin combined with the increased heat cause moisture to collect and become large storm clouds. The worst of which are hurricanes born not far off Africa’s west coast. These storms pick up energy as they make their way toward North America.

It’s a good idea to have objects around your yard put away or secured when a storm is coming. These small objects can basically become missiles in high speed winds.

Erosion

There are constant efforts to prevent natural erosion on our shores. Even with these efforts there will be victims to the phenomenon. Recently, a house right on the beach collapsed after a storm. It was an unoccupied home at the end of Ocean Drive in Rodanthe.

The house had been abandoned for a few years now and its fate had been sealed for some time. The 1970 construction was previously rented out to vacationers through a local real estate company but had been abandoned for at least two years now.

The sandbag replacement project on Highway 12 has been completed and traffic is flowing smoothly again. The half-a-million dollar project repaired or replaced over 2,000 bags which help stave off erosion.

The South Dock ferry basin will also be dredged soon also in erosion prevention efforts. 37,000 cubic yards of sand will be taken from below and added on top of the sand bags to complete the effort.