 | |
  Wallops Island  Wallops Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°51′N75°28′W / 37.850°N 75.467°W /37.850; -75.467 |
| Area | 6 sq mi (16 km2) |
| Administration | |
| State | Virginia |
| County | Accomack County |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
| • Summer (DST) | |
Wallops Island is a six-square-mile (16 km2) island inAccomack County,Virginia, part of theVirginia Barrier Islands that stretch along theeastern seaboard of theUnited States.[1] It is just south ofChincoteague Island, a popular tourist destination.
Wallops Island proper, originally known as Kegotank Island, was granted to John Wallop by the Crown on April 29, 1692. Ownership was divided through the years, until the Commonwealth of Virginia seized the property in 1876 and 1877 in lieu of unpaid taxes. From 1877, ownership was again divided and subdivided until 1889, when it was held by various trustees for the Wallops Island Club. The club was incorporated and assumed ownership in 1933 as the Wallops Island Association, Inc. Association members and their families spent the summers fishing and swimming on the island. The Association grazed sheep, cattle, and ponies on the area until the mid-1940s. In 1947, theU.S. Navy began using the upper two-thirds of the island on a lease-rental basis foraviation ordnance testing. TheNational Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), forerunner ofNASA, leased the lower 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) for rocket launching facilities.[2]
The island is used primarily for theWallops Flight Facility, including theMid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, although the name also refers to thepeninsula area surrounding the island for the purpose of mailing addresses. TheWallops Island National Wildlife Refuge and theChincoteague Bay Field Station are located on the island.
Some of the World War II filmOur Father was filmed on Wallops Island.
| Climate data for Wallops Island, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1966–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 79 (26) | 79 (26) | 86 (30) | 93 (34) | 97 (36) | 100 (38) | 102 (39) | 100 (38) | 96 (36) | 93 (34) | 82 (28) | 78 (26) | 102 (39) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 65.9 (18.8) | 67.5 (19.7) | 74.7 (23.7) | 82.4 (28.0) | 88.2 (31.2) | 93.1 (33.9) | 95.5 (35.3) | 93.1 (33.9) | 89.5 (31.9) | 83.2 (28.4) | 73.8 (23.2) | 67.7 (19.8) | 96.4 (35.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 46.2 (7.9) | 48.5 (9.2) | 54.5 (12.5) | 64.3 (17.9) | 72.7 (22.6) | 81.3 (27.4) | 86.1 (30.1) | 84.2 (29.0) | 78.7 (25.9) | 69.1 (20.6) | 58.8 (14.9) | 50.5 (10.3) | 66.2 (19.0) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 37.9 (3.3) | 39.8 (4.3) | 45.8 (7.7) | 55.1 (12.8) | 64.1 (17.8) | 73.2 (22.9) | 78.2 (25.7) | 76.5 (24.7) | 70.8 (21.6) | 60.2 (15.7) | 49.7 (9.8) | 42.0 (5.6) | 57.8 (14.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 29.5 (−1.4) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 37.0 (2.8) | 45.9 (7.7) | 55.5 (13.1) | 65.1 (18.4) | 70.4 (21.3) | 68.7 (20.4) | 63.0 (17.2) | 51.4 (10.8) | 40.7 (4.8) | 33.5 (0.8) | 49.3 (9.6) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 12.3 (−10.9) | 16.6 (−8.6) | 22.4 (−5.3) | 32.1 (0.1) | 42.4 (5.8) | 52.4 (11.3) | 60.5 (15.8) | 59.2 (15.1) | 49.6 (9.8) | 36.0 (2.2) | 25.9 (−3.4) | 19.3 (−7.1) | 9.9 (−12.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 0 (−18) | −1 (−18) | 14 (−10) | 26 (−3) | 33 (1) | 43 (6) | 53 (12) | 48 (9) | 43 (6) | 29 (−2) | 19 (−7) | 4 (−16) | −1 (−18) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.15 (80) | 2.81 (71) | 3.91 (99) | 3.12 (79) | 3.20 (81) | 3.39 (86) | 4.37 (111) | 4.32 (110) | 4.33 (110) | 4.02 (102) | 2.88 (73) | 3.75 (95) | 43.25 (1,099) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 3.5 (8.9) | 2.3 (5.8) | 0.7 (1.8) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.7 (4.3) | 8.4 (21) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 10.8 | 9.4 | 10.9 | 10.5 | 11.0 | 10.1 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 10.5 | 118.3 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 4.9 |
| Source:NOAA[3] | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Beaches of Delmarva | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
