Defining Environmental Characteristics of Sea Breezes along the U.S. Gulf Coast

Abstract

Studies of sea breeze have been done on coastline locations worldwide, but only a few have focused on the U.S. Gulf Coast. This area is frequently influenced by sea breeze events; therefore, it is important for meteorologists to determine where and when these systems will occur. The objectives of this study are to quantify sea breeze frequency along the Gulf Coast and define the associated environmental characteristics. The study is based on sea breeze development during synoptically benign days. From 1991 to 2010 a total of 1,255 days were classified as synoptically benign, with 161 of those days identified as a sea breeze day through analysis of clouds from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery. The average surface temperature was significantly different between sea breeze and non sea breeze days, but the average surface wind speed and direction were not significantly different making them poor descriptors of sea breeze environments.