PINEHURST, N.C. (WNCN) — While there are no big storm chances in the forecast through the weekend, heat and some more wind are both expected, with plenty to keep the meteorologists here in Pinehurst busy.
“Pinehurst is one of those locations in which we’ve had weather come from every single direction during the entire week,” said Jake Swick, VP and Chief Meteorologist with Thor Guard.‘It’s about notification’: A deeper dive into USGA’s inclement weather system
Thor Guard and the USGA have been working together for decades. It takes two to tango, and that won’t be the only dance this week.
“Any time you have thunderstorms in the forecast, there’s always that [question of] ‘Are we going to do the dance? Are we going to hesitate or are we going to have to pull the trigger?’” Swick said.
They don’t play that game alone. Thor Guard has several scientific measuring devices on site that tell whether or not lightning is building, or if it’s not present at all.
Swick says he and the team travel all over the world to different championships with their lighting prediction system, as well as multiple weather stations on the grounds. At the main observation site, Swick has a weather camera to monitor the 18th hole.
That lightning prediction system eliminates that old school 10-mile lightning proximity policy.
“I’ve been in championships or tournaments before, where we’ve had lightning 5 to 7 miles away. We’ve been able to play through it,” Swick added.
Luckily, the heat won’t be as crazy as it can be this time of the year in the Sandhills; two years ago on Father’s Day weekend, the Sandhills hit 100 degrees. There’s also a surprising amount of shade out at Pinehurst for fans to take advantage of. Most of the holes are treelined with plenty of pines to provide relief from the June sun.
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