1. Why Coastal Climates are moderated by water

2. Wilmington, like many cities in North Carolina are on the coast.

3. Specific Heat Not all things heat up at the same rate.
It takes different amounts of energy to heat up different objects.
For example, aluminum foil heats up very quickly, however cools very quickly as well.
How long does it take to boil a pot of water?

4. What is Specific Heat?
Specific Heat is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1g of a substance 1 degree Celsius

5. How is the average high temperature in Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks in the summer?
85 degrees Fahrenheit
What is the average Low?
39 degrees Fahrenheit

6. Avg. Temp. for Cape Hatteras
Average Temp for Cape Hatteras Month Low High
Jan 38.6°F 53.6°F
Feb 39.0°F 54.6°F
Mar 44.5°F 60.2°F
Apr 51.8°F 67.7°F
May 60.2°F 74.9°F
Jun 68.1°F 81.5°F
Jul 72.9°F 85.4°F
Aug 72.3°F 84.8°F
Sept 68.5°F 81.1°F
Oct 58.8°F 72.6°F
Nov 50.3°F 64.8°F
Dec 42.6°F 57.3°F

7. Raleigh How is the average high temperature in Raleigh in the summer?
90 degrees Fahrenheit
What is the average Low for Raleigh?
29 Degrees Fahrenheit

8. Avg. Temp. for Raleigh, NC Average Temp for Raleigh Month Low High
Jan 29.6°F 49.8°F
Feb 31.9°F 54.0°F
Mar 38.9°F 62.5°F
Apr 46.4°F 71.8°F
May 55.3°F 78.7°F
Jun 63.8°F 85.5°F
Jul 68.5°F 89.1°F
Aug 67.2°F 87.2°F
Sept 61.0°F 81.3°F
Oct 48.2°F 71.8°F
Nov 39.5°F 62.4°F
Dec 32.6°F 53.3°F

9. Raleigh High and Low
Why do you think Raleigh has an average higher temperature than Cape Hatteras in the summer?
Why do you think Raleigh has an average lower temperature than Cape Hatteras in the winter?
Specific Heat! Plus…Land vs. Sea Breezes…

10. Land vs. Sea Breeze
During the day, when the land heats up, the air rises Due to a concentration difference, this causes the wind from the ocean to travel toward the land. As a result, this cools the land This is called a Sea Breeze

11. Land vs. Sea Breeze At night, the ocean is warmer.
The heat from the ocean rises causing a concentration gradient.
The result is the wind from the land will travel toward the ocean

12. Land vs. Water
The specific heat of water is 4184 Joules of heat energy are needed to raise the temperature of 1 Kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.
To the contrary, the specific heat capacity of a typical soil is around 840 J/Kg*C,
This means that one kilogram of typical dry soil requires less energy to raise its temperature by one degree.
So, you can see that around 3.5 times more heat energy input is required to raise the temperature of a body of water vs a piece of dry land having the same mass.

13. Specific Heat
As a result, most coastal communities have very moderate temperatures.
Usually, nothing too extreme.
Not too hot, not too cold…just right
The cities that usually have more extreme temperature are those inland.