Last month started with more extreme temperaturesbut one Wetter sample follows has brought improvements to us summer drought.
Temperatures continue to rise in early July
Exceptionally hot weather early in the month made July warmer than normal in North Carolina. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reported preliminary statewide average temperatures of 79.3°Fthat made it ours July 9th warmest over the past 130 years.
Locally, this July is considered the 5th warmest July on record. Charlotte And catkin – and the warmest for both locations since 2016 – and the 4th warmest on record. Gewgew 111 years old.
Where does July start? June left behind, with extremely high temperatures during the first two weeks of the month. Under a high pressure system In the Southeastern United States, temperatures soared to 90 degrees Fahrenheit over Independence Day weekend.
On July 5, some locations avoided afternoon showers to record the hottest day of the summer so far. In the west, Charlotte reached 101°F: the first triple-digit temperature in more than two years. Further east, temperatures rose to 103°F Gewgew104°F in Hamlet Villageand 106°F in RaleighThis is the highest temperature ever recorded at Raleigh-Durham Airport.
While reading it is confirmed by a technician on site that day, local factors For example, the gravel ground cover beneath the weather station and the wind blowing along the length of the runway are known to affect the temperature of the RDU on these hottest days. However, we know that this is not alone. Urban heat mapping campaign 2021 found the airport to be one of the many hotspot in the Triangle where land use increases ambient temperature.
In a timely manner cold front path then that weekend helped cool our temperatures, although temperatures returned the following week, even in the typically cooler western areas. From July 14 to 16, North Wilkesboro had three consecutive days with high temperatures of 95°F or higher; the longest such streak since July 2012.
We then shifted into a more seasonal pattern, with frequent frontal winds and unsettled weather keeping highs in the 80s to 90s most days. On July 25, amid scattered showers, the Raleigh Airport site peaked at 79°F, ending a streak of 54 days with highs of at least 80°F that began on June 1.
On a cloudy day, it brings light at the end of the tunnel that our sweltering summer days are numbered. Of course, August may have something to say about that first.
Rainfall pattern reversal
Rain returned in heavy amounts last month, making for one of the wettest Julys on record. Preliminary data from the NCEI shows average rainfall across the state was 8.29 inches Last month, the ranking was Wettest July 11 since 1895.
That shows that rainfall varies significantly in just one month, after what officially ended as we Second driest June The rapid transition from dry to wet is also reflected in the local rankings: from the 4th driest June to the 5th wettest July on record. Lincolnton; from June the driest month in New Bern to the third wet month of July; and from GreenvilleJune was the second driest – with just 0.45 inches of rain for the month – to the wettest July on record in 94 years of observations, with 14.30 inches.
Indeed, after ending June with less than 2 inches of rain, much of northeastern North Carolina recorded more than 10 inches of rain in July. Washington has 17.84 inches, Carteret Cape has 14.88 inches and our ECONet station is at Rock mountain had a total rainfall of 12.86 inches, among other heavy rainfall.
While daily showers and thunderstorms are common throughout the month, the heaviest rains come from a pair of frontal boundaries that stall for two consecutive weeks: the first begins in July 11and again on July 18. Southwesterly winds carry moist air along these fronts, causing slow-moving showers and extremely heavy rainfall.
5.03 inches in Greenville on July 11 was the most ever recorded on any day in July there. On July 18, Elizabeth City had 4.08 inches – the wettest day since Hurricane Dorian in 2019. And in Piedmont, Graham There was 3.45 inches on July 25, which was the highest daily rainfall total since September 2018 in Hurricane Florence.
It wasn’t just the amount of rain last month that was impressive. It was the regularity. At a time of year when rain can be erratic, showers and storms were a reliable daily occurrence in some parts of the state last month.
After a streak of 19 consecutive days with no significant rainfall recorded in June, Fayetteville There were 10 consecutive days of rain in July: the longest streak since autumn 2015. Lillington And Williamston There were also 10 consecutive days of rain in the wettest July and third wettest July on record.
It was also the wettest month for the northern and central mountains, including the fourth wettest month in 92 years. Jefferson and the fifth wettest July on record. Asheville with monthly rainfall double normal.
The western Piedmont region saw less rain last month than the rest of the state, but some areas still saw slightly above normal rainfall. Charlotte And catkin Each one is about 1.5 inches taller than normal and Greensboro 5 inches above normal in the seventh wettest July on record.
Drought eased by July rains
In early July, US Drought Monitor The map is in dire condition across North Carolina. By July 9, drought covered 88% of the state and Extreme Drought — the second most severe type of drought – returned to eastern North Carolina for the first time since August 2011.
But as quickly as the drought developed in June, it seemed to disappear in July. Consecutive weekends of steady, wet rain helped. soil moisture conditions recovery, while water levels in lakes and streams also rose sharply in a short period of time.
The monthly changes are also evident in the water level: flow in southern Orange and Durham counties were at temporary record lows in June, but those sites are still running above normal at the end of July.
July rainfall has made up for the June deficit in most areas, keeping summer rainfall so far close to or slightly above normal. Fayetteville is running on par with the average rainfall for the past two months, just 0.09 inches above normal. And through the end of July, Raleigh is 2.92 inches above normal while Asheville 2.73 inches taller than normal.
Some areas remain dry and drought-stricken, with slight summer shortages. These include areas in the northwestern Piedmont such as Yadkinville3.15 inches lower than normal and Reidsville4.80 inches below normal since June 1.
Other lingering signs of the June drought can be found in corn stalks – or at least what’s left of them. For early-planted corn, hopes of a big yield this year were dashed by hot, dry weather in June, which struck just as corn was going through its most moisture-sensitive stage of growth.
While corn may be in trouble this season, late July brought more positive signs for other crops, as soybeans, tobacco and pastures all recovered thanks to rain.
With such a quick recovery and few long-term impacts from this summer’s drought, it’s likely that this will be just a blip on the 2024 timeline when we look back on this year. That would obscure the severity of this drought and how quickly it came on, but it’s also a testament to how meaningful and beneficial our July rains were across the state.
