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Are Those Values Real?!

ECONet

Nov 6, 2017

October According to the ECONet

Over the past month, we’ve been in the field nearly every day visiting our ECONet weather stations for some final fall maintenance. With our statewide network on our minds, this month’s climate summary will look at October through the lens of the ECONet. About the ECONet If you’re not familiar with our network, here’s a…

Aug 30, 2017

How Low Did They Go? Explore Radiation & Temperature Data from the Eclipse

Along with providing a rare sight in the skies, last week’s solar eclipse had a distinct impact on weather conditions in North Carolina. Our 40 ECONet stations measure ambient conditions every minute, and after reviewing their data and crunching the numbers, we’ve seen how the eclipse affected solar radiation and air temperatures across the state.…
Aug 2017 Great Eclipse Map

Aug 14, 2017

The Eclipse is Coming, but Will the Clouds Cooperate?

Next Monday, a total solar eclipse will be visible from parts of North Carolina for the first time in more than 47 years. A little after 2:30 pm on August 21, skies will darken in the far southwestern part of the state for around two-and-a-half minutes. Across the rest of the state, a partial eclipse…

Jul 5, 2017

Extreme Heat Stays Away to Start the Summer

After a hot, wet spring, June was a bit cooler and slightly drier across much of the state. Below-Average Afternoon Highs Drive a Cool Month In recent years, June has become associated with the inevitable onset of summer heat. However, last month was comparatively tolerable, ranking as the 50th-coolest June since 1895 with a statewide…

Aug 31, 2016

Summer Projects: Hitting Pay Dirt on Soil Moisture

This post is part of a series highlighting the summer projects from our office’s student research assistants. This part of the series is written by Andrew Henderson, who is a rising junior majoring in Meteorology at North Carolina State University. Soil moisture plays a vital role in agriculture, meteorology, and drought-monitoring. Simply defined, soil moisture…

Sep 24, 2015

Bald Head Island Welcomes Our Newest ECONet Station

Our first ECONet station on North Carolina’s Outer Banks was officially unveiled earlier this week at the Bald Head Island Conservancy (BHIC). Since it was installed in late June, this station has provided valuable weather information in near real-time for researchers, residents, and tourists on the island, which is the most southerly point in North…

Jan 15, 2015

2014 Climate Review: Mountains Started Snowy, Finished Dry

This is the final part of our 2014 climate review. We wrap up our regional look around the state with the Mountains. Annual Overview Much like the Piedmont, the Mountains were on the cool and dry side in 2014. Specifically, the region had its 33rd-coolest and 31st-driest year since 1895. A few stations were particularly…

Jan 2, 2015

December Delivers Above-Normal Temps and a Rainy Finish

December was a fairly quiet month weather-wise, with temperatures running a few degrees above normal, especially in the west, and precipitation late in the month for eastern North Carolina. Sun Bowl: Above-Normal Mean Temps Across the State On the heels of one of our coldest Novembers on record, December finished as the 28th-warmest since 1895.…

Dec 4, 2014

Are Those Values Real?!

Sometimes, looking at climate data on a daily basis always brings new and unexpected results. One such result occurred earlier in November when relative humidity (RH) values at five of our western NC ECONet stations were below 10%. To put this in perspective, on the driest days in North Carolina, RH values will rarely dip…