Lady Liberty Weather Inside and Out
Posted 2009-07-02
By Gina
Cherundolo
AccuWeather.com
This Independence Day, access to
the Statue of Liberty's crown will be reopened to the public for the first time since September 11.
Officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World, the cultural landmark boasted 3.5 million visitors last year.
As visitors gear up to visit the statue this summer, they'll have to keep in mind that the weather will greatly influence what kind of experience
they'll have that day.
Temperatures in the
New York City area can vary greatly from one day to
the next. If a sea breeze kicks in, a comfortable day will usually be had. If winds are from the southwest, an AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature
in the 90s is not uncommon.
Fortunately for the grand opening on Independence Day, the weather appears to be on the comfortable side with a high within a few degrees of 80,
plenty of sunshine, a gusty breeze and low to moderate humidity.
Since the interior of the copper statue is not air-conditioned, temperatures inside can climb as much as 20 degrees above the temperature outside,
which could make the single-file, 168-step journey to the top very
uncomfortable.
"The statue acts like an oven, basically containing all that heat," Eugene Kuziw, a park ranger for the National Park Service (NPS), said.
AccuWeather.com Long Range Expert, Joe Bastardi is expecting a stretch of 90-degree weather to hit in mid-July in the New York area. Keep that in
mind if that is when you have tickets for entry.
It is not uncommon for the NPS to shut down interior access for weather-related reasons. The statue's torch is often struck by
lightning, and extreme heat and
high winds are all factors for officials to deem tourist visitation
unsafe.
"Usually, the storms blow through here pretty quickly, so in 30 minutes or so we open back up," Kuziw said.
As with many architectural monuments and buildings, the statue will sway in
strong winds. According to the NPS, a 50-mph gust of wind can cause the
torch to sway 5 inches and the rest of the statue to sway 3 inches.
The wait for crown access can take hours, as thousands of tourists journey to the statue every day. Every visitor must go through security checks
before and after boarding the ferry to the island. Once there, visitors are split into groups of 10 to climb the stairs.
Visitors are urged to eat an adequate amount of food and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated during the wait.
For those who were not fortunate enough to get tickets for this summer, or simply cannot make the trip, a virtual tour is available at this National
Park Service website...http://www.nps.gov/stli/photosmultimedia/virtualtour.htm.
Story by AccuWeather.com's Gina Cherundolo. AccuWeather.com's Katie Fehlinger contributed to the content of this story.
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