How To Deal With the Heat

Sometimes people considering a move to the Crystal Coast worry about North Carolina's reputation for hot and humid summer temperatures. I often get the question of how do you survive the heat in July and August? The simple answer is that we wait for it to go away, but actually we manage to continue with our daily activities without a lot of changes. This is the South and in the summer it does get hot. There are some unique things about Carteret County that help us survive.

One of our secrets here on the Crystal Coast is that we are never very far from the water. We are cooler than most of North Carolina except the mountain areas. The water that nearly surrounds us often brings a breeze. Yesterday morning I mowed my yard while the temperature was in the upper eighties. The experience was not that bad because there was a breeze of ten miles per hour.

Only rarely are completely without winds. Recently I went for a bike ride in mid-morning. I'm lucky that our new street in Bluewater Cove is almost completely shaded with tall pines. Even as noon approached I was able to stay in the shade during my bike ride. Later I paddled my kayak out to the White Oak River. I had a light tailwind when I headed out, and there was a good breeze out on the river. it was actually very comfortable out on the water.

In late July and August our river, the White Oak, is considerably warmer than the waters near Boug Inlet. If you want more pleasant temperatures, a trip by water to Bogue Inlet will often fix the heat problem.

If you cannot make a boat trip, then it is good time to check out the pool or the beach. As long as the evening temperatures are getting into the seventies like they are now and we have some overnight wind, swimming pools in the area cool off enough to be pleasant during the day.

When the swimming pools get too warm as they do when the night temperatures stay in the eighties, the ocean water is close to perfect for a quick dip.

The truth of the matter is that we have few really hot and humid days compared to most of North Carolina. The really warm days can only be escaped by becoming close friends with your air conditioners or continually dunking yourself in the ocean.

My saving grace as a former Canadian is that I have adjusted to the heat and now find the warmth a better choice than snow and ice.

While we do get hot in Carteret County, we all know from experience that you only have to go a few miles inland for the heat to really crank up.

If we see ninety degrees we know that usually some North Carolina towns are approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

That thought often helps, and there are some tricks that also ease the challenge of warm country life.

Residents know that the best time to do outside work is early in the morning. It is also often the best time of the day for fishing.

We keep the thermostats in our home at around 78 during the day. We often find that even at that temperature, it feels very cool when you walk into our home.

We try to utilize natural shade and always have some cold liquids nearby.

Fortunately the serious summer heat only lasts a few weeks, After that we often have a magnificent fall weather which just begs for spending time on the beach

So whether you are from the Mid-west or from just west of here, you will find the Crystal Coast a place where you can escape from some of the worst of summer's heat.