Memorial Day weekend forecast for Cape Cod: Will it be beach weather?
Here comes one of the busiest weekends on the Cape Cod calendar and the unofficial kickoff to the summer season.
Some things are certain during the Memorial Day weekend: restaurants and shops will be open, backyard grills will be fired up, and we will honor the sacrifice of those who lost their lives in military service.
Other components of the big weekend are less predictable. In the traffic department, we can all be thankful that bridge repairs are over (at least for now). But it's fair to assume that there may be congestion and frustration on the roads at times.
Perhaps the biggest question of the weekend is this: Will it be beach weather?
After all, we've slogged through winter and a pretty chilly spring, and some of us may have purchased spiffy new bathing suits. The idea of laying on a Cape Cod beach in the warm sun and maybe even taking a dip sure sounds good, and many would argue that we dang well deserve it!
Truro hike How did Ballston Beach get its name? Remote hike visits a piece of Cape history
Sunny, but not tropical for Memorial Day weekend, says a National Weather Service meteorologist.
With sandy hopes and dreams in the balance, we turned to the folks at the National Weather Service (NWS) and their forecast for the Memorial Day weekend.
"Right now, it's looking good," said Alan Dunham, meteorologist at the NWS Boston/Norton office. "You're looking at dry conditions, partly to mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the upper 60s."
While the temperatures don't sound tropical, there's a lot to like about the forecast. It will still be sunny and seasonable at the beach, although swimming may only be for the hearty among us. Dunham also cautioned that water temperatures around the Cape are still pretty chilly.
Curious Cape Cod: Ghost roads of the Province Lands
Take a look at water temperatures on Cape Cod.
The water temperature is currently about 56 degrees in the middle of Cape Cod Bay, according to information from the National Data Buoy Center. Another buoy, in the Atlantic Ocean about nine nautical miles off Provincetown, reported water temperatures around 51 degrees. Closer to shore, a station near Woods Hole came in with a water temperature around 59 degrees.
This made me wonder about the temperature of the Cape's lakes and ponds, so I drove my food thermometer over to Long Pond in Wellfleet and dipped it in the water. The highly unscientific and amateur escapade produced a reading of 69 degrees. So perhaps a dip in a smaller body of water might prove less daunting this weekend — and you'll still be able to tell amazed friends that you swam on Cape Cod in May.
Cape bridges and endangered bats How two endangered animals play a role in $4B rebuild of Sagamore, Bourne bridges
Here is the Memorial Day weekend weather forecast for Hyannis from the National Weather Service:
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 57. Breezy, with a north wind 18 to 22 mph.
Thursday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. Northeast wind 8 to 14 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. North wind around 10 mph.
Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. South wind around 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. North wind around 10 mph.
Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. South wind around 11 mph becoming west after midnight.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. West wind 10 to 13 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. South wind 10 to 13 mph.
Memorial Day: Partly sunny, with a high near 68. North wind around 10 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
Get the Cape Cod news alerts that matter delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our free news alerts.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod weather forecast: What to expect Memorial Day weekend
