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NC Extremes: Damaging Hurricanes From Slopes to Shores

flooding

Sep 18, 2018

Rapid Reaction: Record Rainfall and Flooding Follow Florence

It was a storm that briefly appeared set to threaten all of North Carolina’s records for landfalling hurricane intensity. In the end, Florence was weaker but wetter than initially expected, and between the storm surge, extreme rainfall, and unprecedented inland flooding, the stubborn storm still left a record-breaking mark on our state. Storm History Florence…

May 1, 2017

April Showers Bring Flooding and Drought Relief

We’re still cooling off and wringing out after one of our warmest and wettest Aprils on record. From Freezing to 90, Warm Weather Rushes In Warm, humid air in place for much of the month made for our warmest April on record out of the past 123 years, narrowly edging April 2002 by 0.04°F for…

Nov 1, 2016

After Matthew, Fall-Like Weather Finally Arrives

The weather news in October was headlined by a single event: Hurricane Matthew. However, after the storm, dry weather took hold for the rest of the month. October Temperatures Above Normal But Still Seasonal Last month’s statewide average temperature of 62.45°F ranks as the 13th-warmest October in North Carolina since 1895. Average maximum, minimum, and…

Oct 10, 2016

Rapid Reaction: Matthew’s Mark on NC Includes Heavy Rain, Flooding

Hurricane Matthew won’t go down in the record books as a landfalling storm in North Carolina. At Category-1 strength as it grazed the coastline, it also won’t rank highly among the strongest storms to affect our state. However, its widespread impacts packed a punch that few other storms in our state’s history can match. North…

Sep 6, 2016

Then and Now, Fran a Standard-Bearer for Hurricane Destruction

When you think of the ingredients for a damaging hurricane in North Carolina, a few things are likely to make the list: major hurricane-strength with high winds, a big storm surge along the coast, and an impact on a large number of people across the state. Twenty years ago in September 1996, Hurricane Fran ticked…

Jul 18, 2016

Rapid Reaction: Saturday’s Storms Bring Locally Heavy Rainfall

When residents and even forecasters in central North Carolina woke up on Saturday morning, they had little idea that a rare rainfall event awaited later that day. After all, the morning cloud cover hardly threatened a stormy afternoon. But clearing clouds, warming temperatures, and several storm-specific ingredients resulted in extreme precipitation totals over a small…

Jul 12, 2016

Hurricane Bertha Kick-Started a Stormy Stretch in NC

The summer of 1996 was a wake-up call of sorts for North Carolina’s coastline. Prior to that, it had been ten years since the last hurricane landfall — Charley in 1986. Besides a near miss from Hugo in 1989, which made landfall in South Carolina and caused damage across the Piedmont, North Carolina’s coast had…

Mar 10, 2016

Memoirs about Meteorologists using CoCoRaHS Data

This is the first of two blog posts highlighting how CoCoRaHS data is used and the value of the reports. First, we explore some of the meteorological applications of CoCoRaHS data. Whether you are a current CoCoRaHS volunteer or are interested in joining this network of rainfall observers, you should know that your data is…

Oct 13, 2015

NC Extremes: Damaging Hurricanes From Slopes to Shores

This post is part of our year-long series about North Carolina’s weather extremes. In September, our NC Extremes post highlighted the strongest hurricanes to affect North Carolina based on the pressure, wind speeds, and storm surge statistics. But when it comes to storm damage, strength isn’t always in the numbers. All corners of our state…