You don’t need a scorching hot day for Virginia Beach sand to burn you. On a partly cloudy day with air temperatures around 90 degrees, sand temperatures can climb close to 130 degrees — hot enough to cause second-degree burns.
Sand temperatures at Virginia Beach reached dangerous levels on a recent mid-July day, even with clouds in the sky and a relatively mild air temperature of around 90 degrees.
Tony Nargi, meteorologist with Scripps News Group Norfolk, began testing with an infrared thermometer at 11 a.m. Despite rain the previous night — which typically keeps sand cooler — the sand was already dry and registering 119 degrees by mid-morning. First-degree burns can happen in seconds on sand at 120 degrees or above. Second-degree burns can occur when sand exceeds 130 degrees…