Persistent onshore flow around high pressure to the north led to moderate rip current activity and several rescues at Wrightsville Beach, NC.
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The episode as NWS ILM wrote it up.
Persistent onshore flow around high pressure to the north led to moderate rip current activity and several rescues at Wrightsville Beach, NC.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 4, 6:34 AM EST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 734 AM EDT Sat Sep 4 2021 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure to the north will bring another sunny and comfortable day today. The humidity will increase on Sunday and it will turn warmer beginning on Monday. Rain chances will gradually increase during the week. Distant hurricane Larry will bring increasing rip current danger to local beaches and eventually rough surf. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY/... Latest sfc analysis shows 1019 mb high pressure centered over VA. The core of the high slides offshore this aftn, while the local area remains under the influence of this high, allowing for NE flow and continued dry and mostly sunny/clear skies due to a very dry column and strong subsidence inversion aloft. Temps will be slightly below normal for early Sept...highs mainly in the mid 80s with lows tonight ranging from the upr 50s in coolest spots to the mid 60s at the coast. Some moderation then for Sun, with temps returning to the mid 80s as S/SW flow develops with the high offshore and a sea breeze developing. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Humidity creeping back into the forecast due to light southerly winds, bolstered a bit Monday by approaching cold front. Rain chances remain small but non-zero just ahead of and along the boundary. In fact given how dry forecast soundings are its starting to seem that measurable precipitation will likely be removed from the forecast in future iterations. Temperatures will run a few degrees above climatology through the period. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Tuesday and Wednesday remain quite warm but also feature small rain chances as piedmont troughiness develops and some weakly cyclonic mid level flow impinges from the northwest. As this flow strengthens around a deepening Great Lakes trough it will push another cool front into the region. The added deep layer ascent should lead to better rain chances while also abating the heat even if only slightly. The trough sharpens further on Friday driving the cold front offshore. Some of the moisture may linger even if only along the immediate coast especially now that models develop a healthy low offshore that may be able to fling a bit of rain westward. && .AVIATION /12Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... VFR conditions expected to continue through the period as a very dry airmass persists across the area. Dewpoint depressions will drift lower in time but should still be sufficient to preclude fog Sunday morning. Extended Outlook...VFR. Isolated showers and thunderstorms Tue and Wed could bring brief flight category restrictions. && .MARINE... Through Sunday: 10-15 kt ENE wind continues today as sfc high pressure centered N of the area this morning slides off the coast this aftn. Mainly 5-10 kt then for tonight into Sun with the high offshore, and some small uptick in the wind nearshore Sun aftn with a developing seabreeze. Seas 2-4 ft drop to 1-2 ft late tonight and Sun coincident with the decreasing wind. There also continues to be a weak (~1 ft) 10 sec ESE swell component. Sunday night through Wednesday... The period starts out with a poorly defined pressure pattern and thus very light winds and diminutive seas. SW flow increases on Monday as a cold front approaches. Wind waves will be on the rise, and some very small long period front-running Larry swells will arrive (though they will represent little to no hazard to navigation due to their small size). Southwesterly winds will continue to be dominant for the remainder of the period as piedmont trough develops. Wind waves will show little to no growth but the tropical swell energy will continue to increase. We will not quite see advisory-worth seas until after the period but inlets may start to become hazardous to smaller craft especially on the falling tide. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...None. NC...None. MARINE...None. && SYNOPSIS...ILM NEAR TERM...MAS SHORT TERM...MBB LONG TERM...MBB AVIATION...SHK MARINE...
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wilmington NC 319 AM EDT Sat Sep 4 2021 AMZ250-252-254-256-NCZ087-096-099-105-107-109-SCZ017-023-024-032-033- 039-055-058-059-050730- Coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 nm- Coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 nm- Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out 20 nm- Coastal waters from Murrells Inlet to South Santee River SC out 20 nm-Robeson-Bladen-Columbus-Inland Pender-Inland New Hanover- Inland Brunswick-Marlboro-Darlington-Dillon-Florence-Marion- Williamsburg-Inland Georgetown-Central Horry-Northern Horry- 319 AM EDT Sat Sep 4 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the adjacent Coastal Waters, southeast North Carolina and northeast South Carolina. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. NCZ110-SCZ054-056-050730- Coastal Brunswick-Coastal Horry-Coastal Georgetown- 319 AM EDT Sat Sep 4 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southeast North Carolina and northeast South Carolina. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Swells from Hurricane Larry could bring dangerous surf conditions by the middle of next week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. NCZ106-108-050730- Coastal Pender-Coastal New Hanover- 319 AM EDT Sat Sep 4 2021 ...MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southeast North Carolina. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Moderate Risk of Rip Currents. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Swells from Hurricane Larry could bring dangerous surf conditions by the middle of next week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue reported fourteen rip current rescues during the day from moderate rip current activity.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, September 2021
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 979548.