This past week surfers across the area have FINALLY been able to enjoy some fun sized surf in the middle of the summer! This has been due to persistent easterly winds so while conditions have not been the cleanest it has been nice to do a few turns and break out the shorter boards.
The water around Hampton Roads will be the place to be this weekend as high temperatures return to the 90s with heat indices in the triple digits! The best chance for rain will be on Sunday. This will be due to the sea breeze as showers and storms may fire up along it during the afternoon hours. Any storm that forms should be brief but with how hot and humid it will be, lightning will be a concern.
Swimmers your in luck! The strong east winds which caused a high rip current risk during the middle of this past work week will switch allowing for the ocean to clean up and calm down. The rip current risk will be low Friday through Sunday with wave heights generally around 1-2 foot.
As for water temperatures, they have been able to warm significantly into the upper 70s. Southern Outer Banks and Peninsula beach locations are even breaking into the low 80s!
This weekend is also looking like a good one for the boaters wave heights around 2 foot on the open ocean and 1 foot for the Bay. Rainfall will likely not cause many issues either as high pressure will be the main force of our weather Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the sea breeze will trigger a few storms close by during the afternoon so if you plan on heading out, try to target the morning and early afternoon.
As for the surf conditions, Friday is looking like your best bet as the linger swell from this past weeks easterly flow fades away. There could be a few standout sets across the Outer Banks on Friday but you will need the longboard.
Saturday and Sunday will feature small surf in the 1 foot range along with onshore winds which will provide a bit of texture to the oceans surface.
See you in the water!
-Meteorologist Brian Michigan 🤙