Stormy few days ahead. A weak cool front will settle down into the area & stall a little either way of the Fl./Ga. border. Combined with northwest flow aloft driving upper level disturbances into the Southeast U.S., the stage will be set for multiple rounds of thunderstorms. Tue. there should be enough sun in the morning to send temps. to near 90 degrees before storms fire. Such instability could trigger intense storms. Beyond Tue. -- Wed. & Thu. -- more cloud cover will drop temps. some but humidity will be high & with the front still in the area + more upper level disturbances the stage will be set for repeated rounds of heavy rain & storms. Hard to believe that suddenly too much rain could be a problem but given last week's heavy rain, flooding could become a legitmate concern/problem this week.
Great celestial treat Tue. evening -- June 5th -- about 6:3-8:30pm as Venus moves between the earth & sun -- something that won't happen again for 105 yrs! The once-in-a-lifetime event will be visible locally as the sun moves lower in the western sky (there have only been 6 such transits since the invention of the telescope!). Do NOT look directly at the sun. MOSH in downtown Jax will offer viewing through a telescope for $1 -- click here for more info. Click here for a "worldy view" from NASA....click here for local transit times. The photo below is courtesy Nat. Geographic.
This is "rip current awareness week". A silent killer but rip currents kill beach-goers every single summer. "Beryl" killed a swimmer last week in Volusia Co.
Rip currents among most dangerous summer beach hazards
Time to brush up on rip current safety tips; awareness week runs June 3 – 9
As Tropical Storm Beryl churned along the southeastern U.S. over Memorial Day weekend, kicking up choppy seas and high surf, coastal communities got a somber reminder of the dangers posed by rip currents.
Although NOAA’s National Weather Service issued rip current warnings from Florida through Virginia there were hundreds of beach rescues and at least one death reported.
Rip currents are narrow channels of fast-moving water that pull swimmers away from the shore. They can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including the Great Lakes. They are common along the U.S. coastline even when the skies are clear. As more people head to the beach this summer, rip current rescues will rise—as, unfortunately, will deaths. Last year, 41 people lost their lives in rip currents in the United States, but on average more than one hundred people die each year from them.
NOAA, along with the U.S. Lifesaving Association and the National Park Service, are working to reduce the death toll by educating people throughout the year, and especially this week during Rip Current Awareness Week, about the danger of rip currents and how to avoid them or survive if caught in one.
“The National Weather Service provides rip current forecasts, so I urge people to check with us before heading to the beach this summer,” said Laura Furgione, acting director of the National Weather Service. "Knowing the conditions before you go will ensure you have a safe and fun day at the beach."
“Each year, America’s beach lifeguards rescue more than 50,000 swimmers from rip currents,” said B. Chris Brewster, president of the United States Lifesaving Association. “Swimming at a guarded beach can reduce your chances of drowning to 1 in 18 million.”
Rip Current Safety Tips
Before you go:
Check NOAA’s surf zone forecasts ** here **.... **here** for safety tips.
** Study how rip currents work and how to escape them.
** Swim at a beach with a lifeguard and talk with the lifeguard about the safest areas to swim.
** Observe and obey signs and flags posted to warn about rip currents.
** Never swim near jetties or piers where there are fixed rip currents.
** Don’t swim in a large body of water that is subject to changing wind, waves and currents unless you are a strong swimmer.
** Swim with a buddy, never alone.
** If you get caught in the grip of a rip current:
** Yell for help immediately.
** Don’t swim against a rip current – it will just tire you out.
** Escape the rip current by swimming parallel to the beach until you are free.
** If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim toward the shore at an angle away from the rip current.
