The sun was out and the heat index was high. Warnings of afternoon thunderstorms were all over the news this morning but the tourist were out in full force on the beach this afternoon. I had to work in the Sunset Beach Island office this afternoon. I could see the thunderclouds building at a distance behind my house but when the weatherman interrupted about 12:30 to say the storm had hit Whiteville, NC, I decided to leave early for work. Glad I did; the sky unzipped; the water sheeted down, the thunder roared and the lightening flashed. Of course, all bedlam broke loose on the beach as the storms rolled in. Umbrellas were jerked down; coolers, blankets, and screaming kids were quickly grabbed and all made a dash for the cars...then they all sat at the drawbridge waiting to cross. The new high rise bridge is due for completion in early fall. I'm not sure how violent storms can be in other areas but when the temperature is high and index is high, they can get pretty violent...tourists need to take them seriously. Get out of the water! Get off the beach! Get a boat to land, quickly! Stay out from under trees! This one lasted about 45 minutes with lots of thunder and lightening. Sun came back out; people came back out to the beach. Mother nature had the last laugh. Within an hour, the fireworks was back!
Just another safety note...our beaches have high and low tides...visitors need to pay attention. If you get caught in a strong pulling current that is pulling you out to sea (riptide)...don't panic and try to swim against it...swim parallel to the shore. You will swim out of it in a short distance.
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