Wind Advisory For Beach Gale Warning On Bay

The main event today is Hurricane Joaquin hitting Bermuda, and it still is not reaching Maryland. But a strong pressure gradient across the Atlantic is funneling strong winds along the Mid Atlantic coast and southward. We miss out on the rain, but many events are still cancelled. But strong winds will gust above 50 mph along the beaches and the bay. On the Chesapeake Bay there are both Gale Warnings and Small Craft Advisories. Winds may be strong enough for restrictions on bridges, but none were in place Sunday morning. Here is a look at the wind model for today. See the official advisories below:

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Also see: Hurricane Joaquin: Sunday Morning Update

National Weather Service Official Statements

(These reports arrive in all caps)

Beaches

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING…

* AREAS AFFECTED: LOCATIONS BORDERING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY SOUTH OF

THE RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER AND LOCATIONS BORDERING THE ATLANTIC

OCEAN IN MARYLAND…VIRGINIA AND NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA.

* HAZARDS: STRONG WIND GUSTS TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT.

* WINDS: GUSTS OF 45 TO 50 MPH.

* TIMING: THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.

* IMPACTS: WIND GUSTS COULD BE STRONG ENOUGH TO DOWN A FEW

TREES…AND CAUSE SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES. SATURATED SOIL ACROSS

THE REGION WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR TREES TO BE DOWNED BY THE

WIND.

Chesapeake Bay

…GALE WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EDT THIS EVENING…

.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM EDT MONDAY… *

WINDS…34 TO 47 KNOTS (54 mph) DURING THE GALE WARNING.

* WINDS…18 TO 33 KNOTS (38 mph) DURING THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A GALE WARNING MEANS WINDS OF 34 TO 47 KNOTS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. OPERATING A VESSEL IN GALE CONDITIONS REQUIRES EXPERIENCE AND PROPERLY EQUIPPED VESSELS. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT MARINERS WITHOUT THE PROPER EXPERIENCE SEEK SAFE HARBOR PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF GALE CONDITIONS.

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY MEANS THAT WIND SPEEDS OF 18 TO 33 KNOTS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE HAZARDOUS WAVE CONDITIONS TO SMALL CRAFT. INEXPERIENCED MARINERS…ESPECIALLY THOSE OPERATING SMALLER VESSELS SHOULD AVOID NAVIGATING IN THESE CONDITIONS.