by WeatherFlow meteorologist Shea Gibson.
This blog post is mainly associated with the meteorologist phone conference today. I would like to present a specific event and address the climate on more of a broad spectrum for the SE Coast for the month of April. There have been some atypical events and early arrivals of pre-seasonal conditions through our region. Specifically, our unusually cooler waters have allowed for NE events to unfold with stronger than normal winds on our area…and we have also seen Seabreeze builds arrive roughly a month early.
NOTE: Water temps were UP and DOWN 58°-70° in April as cooler climates early in the spring persisted….and remain between 67°- 71° for May. (Remember – our shallow coastal waters allow for faster cooling and heating.)
Event April 21, 2013
Forecast called for moderate to semi-strong gradient build along the coast with lingering trough activity from stalled front offshore. Speeds were forecast by us to hit low to mid 20’s and timing was mainly about a gradual build. What occurred was a very strong tightening of the gradients and a sudden spike in speeds right before 10:00am. Gradients offshore showed significantly higher elevations as they normally would and brought parity along shore with an immediate blast. Result: Winds came up into low 30’s for averages and gusted into low 40’s for most of the day. Special update on timing and speeds were needed.