So I was in the Hatteras all last week and the waves were crap. Still, I tried to paddle out whenever it looked like there was anything rideable (which was not often). Anyhow, I trunked it with a rash guard the entire time. I didn't go out Friday because it sucked and Saturday was awful too but I was desperate. I finally found a spot where there were these dudes from VA beach surfing. I spoke with one of them and he said I'd need a suit and it was cold and his feet got numb. I told him I'd been trunking it all week and thought I'd be okay so I went out. I was out maybe 20 minutes and my feet were getting kinda numb. I caught one more wave and went in and decided to go fishing with my dad instead since the conditions were so terrible. We went fishing about 3 miles from where I paddled out. I decided to check the temp with his water temperature guage and it was 58 degrees. So I had two thoughts: 1. How long would I have lasted if conditions were fun 2. I think I need to lose some chubb because I could've maybe stayed out longer. Not sure the last time it was June and this cold. The weather is strange this year.
this is not that abnormal.. The SW flow brings up colder water. This happens a lot this time of year. The buoys off the coast are pretty warm, so when the SW flow stops then the water will warm up pretty quickly. I surfed a few days ago in Delaware and the water was around 65 - burning up in my 3/2. I went 10 miles south in Ocean City, and the water was in the mid 50s - pretty chilly.
Gotcha. Yeah just figured down south it would be a little warmer. I don't recall using a wet suit down there in June or even May but maybe I just missed the cold periods.
La Nina? I know it predominantly affects the Pacific Ocean, but maybe it raises the cool water in the Atlantic, too???
From what i understand La nina is just the opposite of ENSO, and the names are particular to the weather patterns in a specific area of the world. Thus by its very name what your suggesting is impossible. However, part of what happens in la nina/el nino is deep water upwelling, or lack thereof. I can see why you might want to make a connection to the upwelling that occurs along the Atlantic, but i believe its a non-related event.
Nah. Local differences in surface water temp can be attibuted to several factors this time of year. Upwelling due to Eckman Transport, river bay and inlet discharge and your distance from these sources of warmer water, air temps, and cloud cover during the day and night. Most of the time if it was warm one day and freezing the next it was caused by Southernly winds which pushes surface water offshore and causes upwelling; Eckman Transport.
What he means by flow is the predominate wind direction. In the Winter on the mid-Atlantic the flow is generally from the W-NW. During the summer this can change. If a strong Bermuda high sets up shop then we might get winds from the S-SE-SW.
it is a bit abnormal, I'd say, for the Outer Banks... Ya, by SW flow, I mean SW winds/coastal current. What happens is the mean transport of surface water actually goes directly away from the coast (look up Eckman transport), and it is replaced by colder bottom water from offshore.
The northern outer banks has some of the largest temp swings due to upwelling in the area. Its not a bad idea to bring a suit all summer if the wind is hard offshore especially north of say kitty hawk.
ya... its a good thing to know that south winds bring cold water. Not sure of the science of it, but i know its true. Its called upwelling... Its also nice to know that any kind of east wind will usually make the water really warm. When its choppy and onshore for a few days, it usually makes the water like bath water...
