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What’s the Trend in Your Area: A Precipitation Pattern or Just Random Rainfall?

Geneva Gray

Sep 6, 2016

Postcards from Fran: Fuel for Fires and Sustenance for Soldiers

This account of Hurricane Fran in Fayetteville comes from Geneva Gray, a graduate research assistant at the State Climate Office. Hurricane Fran wreaked havoc across the Coastal Plain and Piedmont just weeks after I started Kindergarten. My younger brother and I were 3 and 5 years old, respectively, and we watched my parents frantically prepare…

Apr 22, 2016

From Snow Cones to Snow Showers: April 1983’s Snow and Freeze

Thirty-three years ago this week amid a warm spring in 1983, an April shower brought a record-setting springtime snow, followed by several days of sub-freezing temperatures that wrecked havoc on the summertime fruit crop. Not unlike our recent winter, the winter of 1982-83 featured a strong El Nino event in the Pacific that brought wet…

Jan 28, 2016

SCO in the Big Easy: American Meteorological Society’s Annual Meeting Review

Early this month, the American Meteorological Society’s (AMS) 96th annual meeting was held in New Orleans, LA. SCO staff and students presented on research conducted at our office to scientists from across the nation. Raleigh Weather Redux Folks at our office arrived in New Orleans to familiar weather. While our colleagues in Raleigh dealt with…

Oct 30, 2015

Fall Colors Set to Emerge, With Help from the Weather

Lawn mowers are being replaced by leaf blowers in the autumn yard work routine. Whether you are in western NC or on the coast, you will experience of some degree of festive foliage in your area. But what exactly causes this change, and why do the mountains experience it earlier? The answer is simple: trees…

Oct 15, 2015

State Fair Climatology: A Fall-Like Feel, Rarely a Washout

It’s that time of the year again: Time for rides and games, time for turkey legs and funnel cake. Yes, the North Carolina State Fair starts today! The Fair has a rich history dating back to its beginning in 1853. It started as a four-day event but now runs over 11 days with plenty of…

Jul 23, 2015

North Carolina’s Dog Days of Summer

Y’all, it’s hot outside! Just this week, heat index values stretched into the triple digits across North Carolina. It is hot enough to make even the most active dog lethargic from the heat. Yes folks, we are in the dog days of summer. Every few weeks, our office receives a question or two about North…

Aug 26, 2014

Summer Projects: Big Data Applications with Rainfall Estimates

This post is part of a series highlighting the summer projects from our office’s undergraduate research assistants. This post is by Geneva Ely, a recent graduate with degrees in Meteorology and Environmental Sciences. From dialect maps to user-tailored Facebook ads, big data has been making the news rounds for the last couple years. These leaps…

Nov 14, 2013

Summer Projects: Bias Correction of Multi-Sensor Precipitation Estimates in North Carolina

This post is part of a series highlighting the summer projects from our office’s undergraduate research assistants. The sixth part of this series is by Geneva Ely, a senior double majoring in Meteorology and Environmental Sciences with a concentration in Air Quality at NC State. This summer I started working on a research project to…

Jul 15, 2013

What’s the Trend in Your Area: A Precipitation Pattern or Just Random Rainfall?

How many times have you been waiting for a rain system to arrive, only to see it just miss you or dissipate before reaching your location? Or can you count the number of times you have left the store during a downpour, only to find not a single drop has fallen at your house? Don’t…