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Winter Recap 2019-20: Warm and Wet, But Little Snow

Climate Blog

Aug 4, 2020

Rapid Reaction: Isaias Moved Fast but Hit Hard in Eastern NC

It was a stealthy storm arriving overnight, but there was no mistaking the damage from Hurricane Isaias. Before it ever made it here, it had already broken a record as the ninth named storm to form in the Atlantic before the end of July. Once it reached North Carolina, Isaias came onshore late on August…

Aug 3, 2020

Summer Surges Ahead in a Hot, Dry July

After a cool June, hot weather arrived in July, while generally limited precipitation saw Abnormally Dry conditions return in North Carolina — but for how long? A Month of Melting Heat Our string of three consecutive cooler-than-normal months in April, May, and June came to an abrupt ending last month with the arrival of summer’s supreme sizzle. According to the National Centers for Environmental…

Jul 20, 2020

Climate Thresholds Tool Offers Historical Stats About Extreme Events

They’re the sort of climatological curiosities that may have crossed your mind this year without even realizing it. In the Sandhills: Wow, 90 degrees before March is done? Here comes the sun! In the Foothills: A freeze in mid-May? No way! And in eastern North Carolina last month: Four inches of rain in one day? Don’t float away! If recent weather…

Jul 7, 2020

Summer Sputters to a Start in a Cool, Cloudy June

June continued our late-spring cooler pattern with wet conditions in parts of the state. At the halfway point in 2020, we also check the year-to-date temperature and precipitation rankings. Cool Temperatures and Cloudy Days Our cool spring has spilled over into summer. The statewide average temperature last month was 73.3°F, ranking as our 50th-coolest June since 1895, according to data from the National Centers…

Jun 8, 2020

Early-Season Tropical Storms Contribute to a Cool, Wet May

The early onset of hurricane season included two storms visiting North Carolina in May. They helped make it a wet month, as well as a cool one across the state. The Tropics Storm to Life The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season didn’t officially begin until last Monday, June 1, but the ocean and tropical atmosphere have…

May 8, 2020

Showers Soak the State During a Stormy April

Plenty of April showers made for a wet month in North Carolina, and our weather pattern was also a cooler one with some gusty winds for good measure. Wet and Severe Weather Rain was widespread last month, giving an overall wet April across almost the entire state. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reports…

Apr 21, 2020

April 13th Tornado Outbreak Ranks Among NC’s Most Abundant

Last Monday, April 13, got off to a stormy start as a line of severe thunderstorms roared across North Carolina. In the process, they spawned 16 confirmed tornadoes, which is the fifth-most ever recorded on a single day in our state. This outbreak — including 131 tornadoes over two days and ten states — had…

Apr 9, 2020

March Remains Warm, But with Drier Weather

We exited a warm winter and got a head-start on spring with above-normal temperatures in March. Dry weather returned to North Carolina last month, but the year-to-date remains wet, as well as warm. A Warm Start to Spring The past month was a warm one in North Carolina, as the National Centers for Environmental Information…

Mar 25, 2020

Winter Recap 2019-20: Warm and Wet, But Little Snow

Heading into the winter, our weather predictions were literally up in the air — or perhaps out to sea — as few large-scale atmospheric patterns, including the status of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation across the equatorial Pacific Ocean, offered many helpful clues about how the season might play out. Four months later, we’ve emerged on…