BREEZING THROUGH...

It goes without saying- the atmosphere is always in motion. Our weather is controlled by a constant stream of cold fronts, high pressure ridges, low pressure systems, etc. But what about the "quiet" days? Even on a lazy summer afternoon, the atmosphere is still at work.

Coastal Carolina weather will often be influenced by the "sea breeze" (or "sea breeze front")- a local effect driven by the effects of daytime heating. Ocean surfaces heat-up much slower than land surfaces, so a natural difference in air temperature is created along our coast during the afternoon. This difference in temperature leads to instability, fueling a difference in air pressure. In turn, this change in air pressure causes the winds to blow (the sea breeze).

As the sea breeze develops and travels inland, thunderstorms can sometimes develop along the breeze boundary. It is quite common to see thunderstorms forming in coastal counties during the early afternoon hours on a hot summer day. These storms travel inland, affecting interior counties during the mid-late afternoon. Usually, they die away all together in the evening.

The sea-breeze has a land-based cousin called the "piedmont trough". This trough forms along a line of differing terrain near I-95 in North Carolina. When the piedmont trough is active, thunderstorms may develop and persist for several hours in areas south and west of Raleigh. As with the sea breeze, these storms usually die quickly once the sun goes down and temperatures equalize.

It seems the atmosphere is always keeping busy- even in the dog days of summer.