Find Relief From the Heat at the Beach in New Hampshire

With temperatures already up to 80 degrees in Dover as of 9:40 a.m. on Monday, it was time to pack up and find some relief at the beach or a local lake.

Meteorologist Margaret Curtis of the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said with high temperatures potentially getting up to 90 degrees in the Dover and Rochester area, people may want to consider moving to a cooler location, such as a beach, or getting into a spot that is air-conditioned.

"With that sticky air mass in place, that's going to feel closer to 95. So definitely one to head inside or head to the lake or the beach, if you can," Curtis said.

Curtis said the water temperature in Hampton is in the 60s.

"That will bring the high temperature right on the beach back down to the mid-70s," Curtis said.

Getting to the beach this week may not be a bad idea, as the sand sculptures are up until Sunday, and the competition was reportedly among the best in history.

Twelves master sand sculptors from the U.S. and Canada built their creations over the course of three days with the winners being named Saturday night during a presentation hosted by Organizer Greg Grady at the Sea Shell.

"The competition pieces themselves really blew me away. Deciding between first and second was one of the most difficult years I have ever had," Grady told Seacoast Current on Sunday morning. "Everybody brought in their A-game. The quality was really up there. In twenty-one years that I've had of judging down there, it's probably the standout point of the year."

Grady said each sculpture is built using just sand and water but once they are complete they are treated to preserve them.

For people stuck at work, the sculptures can be seen on a dedicated beach cam courtesy of the Hampton Beach Village District.

The winner was Abe Waterman, of Prince Edward Island in Canada. He took home $6,000 for the first-place win.

This is him working on a sponsored piece on June 10, 2018.

To see his winning piece of art, "Empty," read to the end of this story.

Mélineige Beauregard of Montreal, Canada, created "Rebirth of Phoenix." That piece, which includes an open space within the sculpture, won second place and the popular People's Choice Award.

Beauregard took home $4,000 for the second place win and $1,000 for People's Choice. Her piece of art can be seen at the end of this article as well.

The hot and humid weather will not stick around, Curtis said.

Relief will be felt coming through Monday night into Tuesday in the form of a cold front.

"We'll be back down into the 80s tomorrow and then back down into the 70s by Wednesday, so today will be the hottest day of the week," Curtis said.

Contact Managing News Editor Kimberley Haas at Kimberley.Haas@townsquaremedia.com.