We have had a lot of folks call tonight to check and see if we are okay,.  It is nice to have people around who actually care about us. However, please do not assume that our situation matches anything you heard on television.

Fortunately for us, Earl seems to be saving his best punches for Ocracoke, Hatteras Island, and the northern Outer Banks.  Even there I think they will be fine.

Earl sliding by us hasn't slowed local authorities who called for a mandatory evacuation of Bogue Banks.  For those who wanted to stay, they instituted a 7 or 8 PM curfew.

So far Earl has not treated us badly.  The slightly heavier band of rain that started a few minutes ago fizzled. Our winds are still in the 20 mph range.  According to the forecasts we should see our peak winds just before midnight.

If the winds get worse than the predicted 30 MPH speed, then I will post an update.  Otherwise I will be hitting the sack after the 11 PM news and weather.
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We were down in Morehead City for another medical appointment yesterday.  After finishing we thought about heading to Beaufort, but since I spent three days there last week on jury duty, we opted for Fort Macon.

Fort Macon is one of my favorite spots.  There is a covered stand overlooking the beach by Beaufort Inlet.  It is a great spot to watch boats coming in from fishing.  You can see Shackleford Banks and in the distance Harker's Island.

Beaufort is also visible.  As I was picking out different part of Beaufort,  I was wondering how many hurricanes Beaufort has waited for in the last three hundred years.
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Heat is no stranger to the Crystal Coast in August.  While it is rare for us to see temperatures above the low nineties, the combination of clear skies, humidity, and heat can prove formidable.

There are two usual solutions to the problem.  One is to get on or near the water.  The other is to hide in your air conditioned space.

There are some qualifiers in August.  Some area waters are so warm that you need to be in place with a breeze.  I went kayaking on the White Oak River one evening.  I was warmed up before even making a move with my paddle.

The water in Raymond's Gut behind our house that evening had to be in the upper eighties.  I paddled out to the river, and there was plenty of breeze.  In fact there was enough breeze that it was too challenging to hold a position while fishing.  read more »

We got another 1.5 inches of rain last night.  That brings our total since mid-week to 2.25 inches.  If we reach the nineties as is predicted, it is going to be steamy around the Southern Outer Banks this afternoon.

After a parched June and early July, the rains have really hit us.  In the last four to five weeks, we have gotten close to ten inches of rain according to my calculations which happen to match what the government has observed if you know how to find our spot on the White Oak on their map.
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As evening has arrived so have the showers which are moving north off of the ocean

It was a nice cool morning today, but it warmed quickly.  I did not to get to start mowing until about 9:45 PM.   It was what a lot of folks would consider hot, but the temperature was not bad if you are used to mowing here on the coast.

I did end up in something of a mad dash.  By the time I finished mowing and got my shower, I had to rush to get to the Bluewater office to photocopy an offer to purchase that I was sending to a client.

Even though I hit every stoplight and was not out of the Bluewater office until 11:50, I still managed to make it to the Swansboro post office before the theoretical noon closing.

Fortunately there was a line so they kept the post office open until everyone had a chance to get their mail processed.

We headed home but made a stop at Clyde Phillip's Seafood so I could claim the Foursquare Mayorship for Clyde's.
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We are on the down slope of summer, and this morning for the first time, the air feels a little different.

We have been so used to waking up with morning temperatures close to eighty degrees that I was surprised when I opened the doors this morning.

The temperature was in the lower seventies as I walked to the mail box to collect the morning newspaper.  There was a mist hanging in the air over the river.  It was probably due to the river being so much warmer than the air.

I hesitate to say "there was a chill" in the air, but if it has been a long time since you have felt seventy degrees, it can feel like a chill.

Earlier in the week when I took a before breakfast boat ride down the river to Swansboro, there was nothing but warmth in the air. My last kayaking trip on the river, there was enough heat coming off the river to make me sweat even in the falling light of evening.
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No one who lives here along the Southern Outer Banks will argue about the declaration that we are in a summer weather pattern.  We have had plenty of heat to go with our afternoon thunderstorms.

Friday morning we got up to clear skies, but it did not take long for clouds to form.  Usually by mid-morning we can see some puffy white clouds.  Today was no exception.

By Friday evening, the view off our patio was the picture with threatening clouds at the top of the blog post.  The clouds eventually looked even worse.

As I was a grilling a steak for dinner, there were some light sprinkles of rain, but there was no clue of what was in store for us.  By 9:30 PM the skies had opened, and it was pouring buckets of rain.   read more »