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The SCOfficial 2018-19 Winter Outlook

Climate Blog

Apr 24, 2019

Twelve Tornadoes Confirmed from Friday’s Severe Storms

Last week included a decidedly bad Friday weather-wise for much of North Carolina as severe thunderstorms produced damaging straight-line winds and tornadoes across the state. The event was well-forecasted several days in advance since it appeared likely that the same system bringing severe storms to the Midwest and Deep South on Wednesday and Thursday would…

Apr 2, 2019

Spring’s Slow March Leaves Winter Behind

Steadily warming temperatures throughout March, as well as a dry and mostly snow-free month, mean spring is upon us. In this post, we also look back at the winter and review our pre-season predictions. Temperatures Cool But Increasing The onset of spring slowly became apparent over the past month, although it was still a cooler-than-normal…

Mar 29, 2019

CoCoRaHS Reports Offered Unique Insights into Florence

During significant weather events, on-the-ground observations often provide us with the best indications of local conditions and impacts, but we don’t just get this information from automated weather stations. In fact, during Hurricane Florence last fall, some of the most meaningful — and most impressive — observations came from the backyards of volunteer observers! Those…

Mar 4, 2019

Few Signs of Winter in a Warm, Wet February

Our recent trend of warm Februarys continued last month with above-normal temperatures across the state. The western part of the state also saw record-breaking wet and windy weather, while parts of the southern coast dried out. Un-Winterlike Warmth February is the final month of meteorological winter, but based on our temperatures last month, you might…

Feb 6, 2019

January Remains Wet, But the Fire Hose Fizzles

The heavy rain and snow of recent months abated in January, leaving us slightly wet and warm overall. While it has been a wet winter, can we blame El Niño? Make sure to check out our global pattern update. Rain Backs Off and Snow Stays Away After our wettest December on record, nearly everyone in…

Jan 3, 2019

A Drenched December Caps a Record Wet Year

Precipitation continued to be the main story in North Carolina’s weather, including a record wet December that — despite a substantial wintry event early in the month — was also a bit warmer than normal. December’s rainfall wrapped up a wet year that also set records across the state. Snowy to Start, Rainy for the…

Dec 11, 2018

Rapid Reaction: A Season’s Worth of Snow in One Day

We didn’t have to wait long this winter to see our first major snow event in North Carolina. The second weekend of December brought significant accumulating snowfall to many areas and a wintry mix across parts of the Piedmont. While the early-season timing of this event was a bit uncommon, the setup for the storm…

Dec 4, 2018

A Cold, Wet November Offers a Possible Winter Preview

November in North Carolina was another wet month accompanied by the arrival of wintry temperatures and the ending of the Atlantic hurricane season, which was an impactful one in our state. Rain, Ice, Snow, and Tornadoes A wet year so far in North Carolina got even wetter last month as most of the state received…

Nov 15, 2018

The SCOfficial 2018-19 Winter Outlook

In our previous post, we described the atmospheric patterns that could affect the northern hemisphere jet streams — and therefore our weather — this winter. To recap, an emerging El Niño is likely to have the greatest impact, with wetter-than-normal conditions expected due to its strengthening of the subtropical jet stream. One ENSO-related wildcard is…