Winter came upon us with a vengeance here on the Outer Banks! This snow and 27 degree windchill feels kinda like payback for our 75 degree Christmas. As snowfall goes, the half inch or so that we got overnight isn’t much, but with bone chilling winds from the north and daytime temperatures struggling to reach the freezing mark, the roads in the morning were a slippery mess and the local kids got a day off from school.
The Outer Banks are a different world with snow on the ground. Walking around Sandy Run Park in Kitty Hawk, wrens and warblers flit through the trees, chirping constantly as they move from branch to branch. Out on the pond a family of ducks huddle beside the gazebo on the leeward side of the wind. As footsteps approach, they begin a noisy squawking complaint and take to the water.
It’s cold on the beach. There is nothing to stop that bitter north wind that is filled with the chill of the sea. On the beach sea foam covers the flotsam of high tide; in the surf 6’ waves break 100 or 125 yards off shore.
There is very little snow on the beach. The salt air prevents that, but in small indentations in the dune, among the sprouts of sea grass, small pockets of snow have found a home.
It will all be gone tomorrow (the forecast is calling for highs in the mid 50s with plenty of sunshine) but for this one day, us OBXers are getting a little taste of winter.