PART II: CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY 
Climate 
8. The FRF enjoys a typical marine climate which moderates the ex- 
tremes of both summer and winter. During the warmest month, July, the daily 
highest temperature averages 30° C. Ocean water surface temperatures tend to 
be lowest in January and February, averaging less than 5° C, and highest dur- 
ing August and September, averaging over 2OmIGe 
9. Precipitation is generally well distributed throughout the year, 
averaging 1,035 mm annually. Precipitation from midlatitude cyclones predom- 
inates in the winter, while local convection (thunderstorms) accounts for most 
of the summer rainfall. 
10. Winds at the FRF are dominated by tropical air masses which create 
low to moderate warm southern breezes, arctic air masses which produce cold 
winds from northerly directions, and smaller scale cyclonic low pressure sys- 
tems which originate either in the tropics (and move north along the coast) or 
inland (and move eastward offshore). The dominant wind direction changes with 
season, being generally from northern directions in the fall and winter and 
from southern directions in the spring and summer. The annual resultant wind 
direction is from the northwest. It is common for fall and winter storms 
(northeasters) to produce winds with average speeds in excess of 15 m/sec. 
Although the portion of the North Carolina coast in the vicinity of the FRF 
experiences a fairly low frequency of occurrence of direct hurricane strikes 
(on the average of once every 42 years), more frequent near-misses can cause 
high wave conditions at the FRF. 
Waves 
11. Wave directions at the FRF, as with winds, are seasonally distrib- 
uted. Waves tend to approach most frequently from north of the pier in the 
fall and winter and south of the pier in the summer; whereas, annually they 
are evenly distributed between north and south. Storm waves, however, ap- 
proach two-to-one more frequently from the north. 
12. The annual mean significant wave height (measured at the seaward 
end of the FRF pier) is 0.9 m, with a standard deviation of 0.6 m. Wave 
