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A Warmer, Wetter Start to Winter in December

tornadoes

Jul 1, 2015

June Sees Sizzling Heat, Emerging Drought, and Damaging Storms

Was June hot enough for you? Temperatures hit the 90s and 100s across the state last month, with dry conditions in the west and storms in the east. Temps Top 100°F in a Summer Heat Wave Oh, how quickly things can change! Just last month, we were talking about the return of 90s after a…

May 12, 2015

Slow-Moving Ana Brings Steady Rains to Eastern NC

Although three weeks remain until the traditional start of hurricane season, some recent activity in the Atlantic gave us the first named storm — Tropical Storm Ana — a bit earlier than usual. Ana’s life began as a disorganized collection of showers and thunderstorms associated with a weak low pressure system over the Bahamas. As…

Apr 16, 2015

NC Extremes: April 2011 Tornado Outbreak One for the Records

This post is part of our year-long series about North Carolina’s weather extremes. One of North Carolina’s most widespread — and most recent — severe weather outbreaks came on April 16, 2011, when a line of storms encountered ideal environmental conditions to strengthen and spawn a record number of tornadoes across the state. A Severe…

Jan 8, 2015

2014 Climate Review: Coastal NC Saw it All

This is the second part of our 2014 climate review. Last time, we looked at some statewide stats and extremes. Today, we begin a region-by-region recap of the past year. Annual Overview On average, it was a cool, wet year for the 41 counties in the Coastal Plain. The average temperature of 60.94°F across the…

Jan 6, 2015

2014 Climate Review: By the Numbers

In the first part of our 2014 climate review for North Carolina, we look at some statewide statistics and extremes from the past year. Temperatures The statewide average temperature was 57.53°F, making 2014 the 19th-coldest year in the past 120 years, and the coolest since 1988. The warmest location was Atlantic Beach in Carteret County,…

Jun 4, 2014

Spring 2014 Started Cool, Finished Warm in NC

This is the second post in our 2014 summer outlook series. Today we review our spring temperatures, precipitation, drought, and severe weather. Statewide Average Precipitation: *13.08 inches (34th-wettest since 1895) Statewide Average Temperature: *56.77°F (30th coldest since 1895) * Values generated from preliminary numbers A Relatively Cool Spring Overall Wintry weather persisted through the early…

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…

Sep 26, 2013

Summer Projects: Rainfall Study and Severe Weather Stats

This post is part of a series highlighting the summer projects from our office’s undergraduate research assistants. First up is Colin Loftin, a senior in Meteorology at NC State. This summer I completed two separate projects. For the first half of summer, I worked on a comparison of daily MPE (Multi-Sensor Precipitation Estimates) and PRISM…

Jan 15, 2013

A Warmer, Wetter Start to Winter in December

December brought welcome precipitation and relatively warm temperatures to North Carolina. Let’s review precipitation patterns first. Western and eastern parts of the state did quite well. Two major rain events (and a couple of smaller events) brought substantial amounts to the mountains and the coastal plain. However, much of central NC missed out on the…