At Least There's No Smoke in Our Forecast
Orange depicts eastern N.C. fire locations as derived by NASA's MODIS satellite. Grey denotes areas that will likely see elevated pollution levels today and potentially smoke inundation. Courtesy N.C. Division of Air Quality.
Here in the D.C. area, some folks are probably disappointed at the threat of thunderstorms for July 4th. On the bright side, though, be happy our forecast doesn't read like that for Nags Head, N.C. (from the National Weather Service):
Today: Areas of smoke before noon. Sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming south between 12 and 15 mph.
Tonight: Areas of smoke after 11pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 76. South wind between 5 and 13 mph.
The reason for the smoke and unhealthy air quality is the wildfires that continue to burn in eastern North Carolina. For those getting away to the Outer Banks for the holiday, the smoke forecast is uncertain as it will depend on how badly the fires are burning and the strength of winds from the southwest. Otherwise, the weather should be great for the Fourth, but a chance of showers and thunderstorms enters the forecast for late Saturday through Monday.
For local weather details, see our full forecast through the weekend, our detailed July 4th forecast, and the holiday weekend BeachCast.
By Dan Stillman |
July 3, 2008; 11:00 AM ET
Fire
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Posted by: El Bombo | July 3, 2008 11:27 AM
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Just reported on Fox 5's 11:30 weathercast. BERTHA has just been born! Location: Near Cape Verde; 40 mph winds. Prognosis: Cool ocean temps and unfavorable upper-air westerlies should keep the storm in check over the central Atlantic. However if Bertha holds together while approaching the Windward Islands next week, we may need to watch her. Let's not have a "big Bertha" of Category 3 or higher. It could really boost those gas prices if it enters the Gulf.
Posted by: El Bombo | July 3, 2008 11:45 AM
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El Bombo, you obviously need to go back to work!
"We seem to have had thunderstorms or the threat thereof EVERY weekend since my retirement May 30. It would be nice to get a storm-free weekend for a change!"
Posted by: Murre | July 3, 2008 10:27 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
You bet I'm disappointed!!! We seem to have had thunderstorms or the threat thereof EVERY weekend since my retirement May 30. It would be nice to get a storm-free weekend for a change!
Fortunately the threat tomorrow evening is no greater than 30-40%, so most fireworks displays should be okay.
Interestingly enough, the TROPICS bear some watching. It seems that little disturbance near Cape Verde, could become BERTHA before the day is out. Isn't it a bit early for Cape Verde systems? I think the ocean is a bit too cool right now. The East Pacific has been rather active with BORIS, CRISTINA and DOUGLAS in the past week or so. Currently Douglas, though minimal, looks a bit close to Cabo San Lucas for comfort [but is moving westward, not towards Baja].