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December Brings a Wet End to a Wet Year

Climate Blog

Mar 6, 2014

An Introduction to our Severe Weather Tools

The World Meteorological Organization defines severe weather as dangerous meteorological phenomenon, of varying duration, with risk of causing major damage, serious social disruption and loss of human life. The State Climate Office website provides information on and illustrations of some of the different types of severe weather. Severe Storm Stats Last fall, our information pages…

Mar 4, 2014

StormFest 2014 Hits Raleigh This Week

Since its inception in 2010, StormFest has gathered science and weather enthusiasts to learn about and engage in weather, specifically severe storms. Each year the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, located in downtown Raleigh, opens its doors for the public to interact with professional meteorologists, emergency management officials, and SkyWarn trainers, to name a…

Feb 27, 2014

March Madness is Back… for Rainfall?!

Have you ever wondered how much rain or snow fell in your backyard? If so, then you could be a great addition to a growing national network of amateur weather observers called CoCoRaHS. What is CoCoRaHS? CoCoRaHS — or the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow network — is a network of volunteers who observe…

Feb 25, 2014

2013-2014 CCMMS Internship: Studies Involving Christmas Trees and Apples

Each year, the State Climate Office invites middle school students from Centennial Campus Middle School to participate in an internship to better their knowledge of weather and climate, as well as work on a project similar to what scientists here at the SCO do for a living. This year, the SCO decided to change how…

Feb 14, 2014

Extended Wintry Event Sees a Mixed Bag of Precipitation

Winter’s latest chapter in North Carolina was the longest and most eventful of the year, bringing the suspense of precipitation type transitions, the fears of freezing rain and power outages, and the drama of gridlock caused by snowy roads. Here’s a summary of how the event unfolded, including a map of three-day snow totals. The…

Feb 12, 2014

Cold, Snowy Weather Dominates January

Monthly statistics for January 2014:Statewide Average Precipitation: 3.38 inches (52nd driest since 1895)Statewide Average Temperature: 33.93°F (7th coldest since 1895)* Values generated from preliminary numbers A Cold Start to the New Year While the big story with the weather in December focused on the high precipitation amounts across the bulk of the state, January’s tale is all…

Jan 29, 2014

Rapid Reaction: 3 Observations about Last Night’s Winter Weather

Just a week after a quick round of snow dusted much of North Carolina, last night’s event brought an even heartier helping of winter weather to the state. Here are three observations we made about this event: 1. The most snow — and most liquid — fell in the eastern part of the state. As…

Jan 22, 2014

Lake Effect Snow in North Carolina? It’s Happening Today!

When you hear the term “lake effect snow”, you probably think of the Great Lakes phenomenon that gives cities like Buffalo, NY, several feet of snow each winter. But this morning, thanks to a quirk of our cold weather, lake effect snow is happening right here in North Carolina! Radar and surface observations from around…

Jan 10, 2014

December Brings a Wet End to a Wet Year

Monthly statistics for December 2013:Statewide Average Precipitation: 5.75 inches (12th wettest since 1895)Statewide Average Temperature: 44.65°F (27th warmest since 1895)* Values generated from preliminary numbers Both minimum and maximum temperatures in December were generally just a bit above normal, and otherwise typical for December. The big news for the close of the year was the continued wet…