Skip to main content
Hello Blog, Goodbye Newsletter

All Climate Blog Posts

Jan 10, 2013

Winter 2012-13 Pattern Update

To this point, the winter in 2012-13 has shown some potential for sending cold and wintry weather to North Carolina but has largely failed to deliver. The potential has been in the form of a persistent, moderately negative Arctic Oscillation (AO) for the past two months. Unfortunately for cold misers, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO),…

Dec 17, 2012

Winter 2012-13 Outlook for North Carolina

Over the past two weeks, we have covered four different winter forecasting techniques, ranging from fun traditions (the woolly worm and farmers’ almanacs) to more robust science (predicting the NAO/AO and ENSO patterns). So what are these methods telling us about the 2012-13 winter? The Woolly Worm This year’s woolly worm predictions were made during…

Dec 14, 2012

What Will Winter Bring? Get a Clue! (from the Pacific Ocean)

This is part four in a four-part series highlighting different winter forecasting techniques. Each year as summer turns to fall, folks begin to wonder: “What will this winter be like?” When seasonal forecasters attempt to answer this, there are few indicators that provide them with clues as to what the weather will be like for…

Dec 12, 2012

October Siberian Snowfall May Shape NC Winters

This is part three in a four-part series highlighting different winter forecasting techniques. Can forecasting North Carolina winter weather be improved by measuring snowfall in Siberia? A group of scientists believe it can by helping to improve the forecasts of two of the most important large-scale climate patterns that affect each winter in the eastern…

Dec 10, 2012

Farmers’ Almanacs Use Centuries-Old Forecasting Formulas

This is part two in a four-part series highlighting different winter forecasting techniques. Could a black box in New Hampshire contain the secret to predicting winter weather? Adherents to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which has been published every year since 1792, might tell you that it does. But what exactly is inside this box, and…

Dec 7, 2012

The Weather According to the Woolly Worm

This is part one in a four-part series highlighting different winter forecasting techniques. What can a caterpillar tell us about the weather? Quite a lot, at least if you believe the folklore surrounding the woolly worm’s role in winter forecasting. But does this legend have legs? Let’s take a look at the story behind one…

Dec 5, 2012

November 2012 was Cool and Very Dry

You may have noticed it hasn’t been raining much. The numbers from reporting gauges across the state would confirm that observation. November 2012 was dry in North Carolina: very dry. Most of the state received less than an inch of rainfall in November. Statewide, it ranks as the 7th driest November on record (since 1895).…

Dec 4, 2012

Hello Blog, Goodbye Newsletter

As we hinted at in our last newsletter, we’re saying goodbye to the old newsletter format. Starting this month, we will be pushing out updates and tidbits of climate information and news as they come along. This will all get captured here on our new blog. Monthly climate summaries will still come each month, but…