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Rapid Reaction: Wintry Weather and Spring-Like Storms Hit NC

tornadoes

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…

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…

May 2, 2018

Wisps of Winter, Sprinklings of Spring in a Cool, Wet April

Our April climate summary looks at last month’s widespread rainfall and cool temperatures, as well as the severe weather so far this spring. April Showers from East to West An active upper-level pattern brought regular frontal passages and rainfall last month, with a preliminary statewide average precipitation of 5.57 inches. That’s more than 2 inches…

Jun 2, 2017

May Showers Seal a Wet Spring, but What Will Summer Bring?

Last month’s rains washed away any lingering drought in North Carolina and topped off the rain gauges in a particularly wet spring. Temperatures Moderate Under Cloudy Skies Last month’s statewide average temperature of 67.11°F was about a degree above the 1981 to 2010 average, ranking as the 45th-warmest May out of the past 123 years.…

Apr 3, 2017

Warm Weather Bookends a Cool Mid-Month in March

After a warm, dry February, our temperatures and precipitation rebounded to near-normal levels in March. Winter’s Parting Shot Brings an Early Spring Cooldown February’s warm pattern spilled over into the beginning of March, and above-normal temperatures were also in place for the final week of the month. However, that warmer weather was balanced out by…

Mar 1, 2016

An Active February Features Wet Weather, Storms

From the coldest temperatures of the winter to widespread severe weather, February had a bit of everything. Temperatures Swing from Shivery to Spring-like The average temperature from statewide reporting stations last month was 41.93°F, which makes it the 59th-coolest February in the past 122 years. However, a statewide average certainly doesn’t tell the full story…

Feb 26, 2016

Rapid Reaction: Severe Storms Spawn Tornadoes in NC

Earlier this week, a cold front moving across North Carolina produced strong thunderstorms that spawned six tornadoes, then left high, gusty winds in its wake. It was a particularly intense severe weather event for February or any month, for that matter. Severe Weather Setup This event had all the ingredients for a tornado outbreak that…

Feb 22, 2016

February Tornadoes are Rare, But With a Damaging History

Last week’s EF1 tornado in Carteret County serves as a reminder that although the winter months are climatologically our least active for severe weather, damaging storms and tornadoes can still happen this time of the year. Forty-five years ago in Fayetteville, a rare February tornado proved to be a strong and deadly one. Winter Tornado…

Feb 16, 2016

Rapid Reaction: Wintry Weather and Spring-Like Storms Hit NC

Our winter roller coaster continued this week as high temperatures plummeted below freezing, we rounded a bend of snow and ice-slickened roads, and temperatures quickly rebounded into the 50s with heavy rain and thunderstorms. It was all part of our latest bout of wintry weather amid an active weather pattern. Arctic Air Settles In The…