Weather

Drought sprouts on the coast like spring takes root in March


Rain event last month was targeting Piedmont and the southern mountains while missing the coast, helped extend the drought over there. The weather is warmer – and a few cool nights – are also signs of spring.

Amidst the rains, dry areas linger

Spring showers wet some areas but missed others, making for an overall drier-than-usual month in North Carolina. The National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) reports a statewide preliminary average rainfall of 3.85 inchesor ours The 55th driest March in the past 128 years.

Compare to Februaryas cold fronts from the west brought light rain east of the Mountains, this pattern changed in March and shared abundant rainfall with more areas.

On the 8th and 9th of March, a front fixed parked on the Carolinas drenched western Piedmont, covering a total of two days of 2.43 inches in Charlotte. The March 8 total of 1.31 inches is the first time Charlotte has received more than an inch of rain in a single day since January 3.

A summary infographic of March 2022 precipitation, highlighting average monthly temperatures, departures from normal, and comparison with history and recent years

Another rain came a week later from a domestic low pressure system. Our ECONet website at Sandhills Research Station in Montgomery County scored 3.56 inches on March 16 and 17, and more than 2 inches falls in the areas around the Sandhills and east of Piedmont.

The mountains also receive rainfall, including soaking along our southern slopes as it passes low pressure system on March 23 and 24. Brevard there were 7.30 inches in that event on the way to a monthly total of 14.40 inches, or the 2nd wettest March since 1902.

The month ended with another shower of rain that was also ended by inclement weather. On the afternoon of March 31, a storm surge created a Tornado EF2 in Anson and Stanley counties and a Tornado EF1 in Durham County. Those who have joined a EF1 in Alexander County from March 23 to the end of a series of tornado events last month.

Although there were some localized downpours and even severe storms, a few of these events occurred over a wide area from west to east. That has deepened the divide between dry and wet areas, and the Coastal Plain has been largely overlooked. Along and east of Interstate 95, dry weather prevailed in March, and drought has now hit these areas on the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Deep drought in Eastern NC

March marks a bad memory for our recent drought. The drought first appeared on October 26 of last year, and it has now hit parts of the state for five consecutive months and is continuing to increase.

Since the U.S. Drought Monitor began assessing conditions in 2000, North Carolina has had eight periods in which the drought has lasted for at least 23 weeks – our current period. .

Of the other seven droughts, three lasted a year or more, including a memorable one 1999 to 2002 and 2007 to 2009 Droughts once reduced reservoirs to a trickle and made water conservation essential.

The other three had shorter lives, lasting less than eight months. Coincidentally, two of them have the same duration as our current drought, first appearing in the fall and lasting through winter before finally ending in spring.

Consecutive weeks of drought in NC The drought begins The drought is over
155 January 4, 2000 February 17, 2002
117 February 3, 2007 May 5, 2009
100 July 6, 2010 May 29, 2012
53 May 3, 2016 May 2, 2017
thirty first February 21, 2006 September 19, 2006
25 November 6, 2012 April 23, 2013
23 October 26, 2021 in progress
23 October 10, 2017 March 13, 2018
†: This drought is longer than it has been since it began in 1999, but the official archives of the US Drought Monitoring Service began in January 2000

Most recently, Moderate Drought (D1) affected Piedmont throughout fall 2017 and winter 2018 before March is cool and snowy helped eliminate any seasonal rainfall deficits.

A 25-week drought was also limited to most of Piedmont in November 2012. By April 2013Localized downpours across the last remaining dry areas of the Sandhills ended that dryness.

Along with its duration, our current drought has several other similarities with those two past events. First, there is no place worse than the Severe Drought (D2) classification. That’s partly due to the time of year they appear, of course, as droughts typically degrade more slowly during winter.

In addition, they share a geographical similarity of being largely confined to one area of ​​the state. Thanks to our March rainfall, the current drought is limited to the Coastal Plain. While that’s little consolation for those in the east, it’s still an encouraging sign that we haven’t seen widespread drought across the state yet.

For comparison, drought currently covers 30.66% of the state’s area. At 23 weeks of the 2007 drought, that coverage was 76.67%.

Dating from the beginning of the current dry spell last fall, rainfall deficit in the past six months most pronounced on the south coast, where there is a Severe Drought (D2) at the moment. Wilmington 10.8 inches below its normal rainfall during that period while other coastal locations such as Greenville, Kinstonand Plymouth 6 to 8 inches lower than normal.

Percentage map of normal rainfall for the 6 months ending March 31, 2022
Percentage of normal precipitation for the 6 months ending March 31, 2022.

Besides, flow much lower than normal along the Trent, New and Lower Cape Fear rivers, and underground wells across the Central Coast Delta ended March below normal or even at the monthly minimum.

While those deficits and impacts will require more than one event – and periods of more frequent rainfall – to disappear completely, we can expect from similar droughts in the past that a Wet months will go a long way in improving conditions. As our recent events have brought rain to some parts of the state, with a little luck another shift in precipitation patterns will target dry spots on the coast.

Warm days, cold nights

We can say that spring has blossomed, at least based on our average temperature last month. NCEI reports a statewide preliminary mean temperature of 53.4°Franked as ours March 19 is the warmest since 1895.

Locally, it ranks as one of the top ten hottest marches in eastern North Carolina. Average temperature in Elizabeth City 5 degrees above normal, ranking as the 10th warmest March since 1934. Greenville tied with the record as the 9th warmest March, and Hatteras bound in its warmest April.

While February’s warmer weather suggests winter has arrived, early March is without a doubt. On March 3 under one Southeast high pressure systemour temperatures skyrocketed in the 80s. As far west as Hickory and Lincolntonthe peak reached 80°F that day, the earliest occurrence of such a warm phenomenon there since February 16, 2018.

March 2022 temperature summary infographic, highlighting average monthly temperatures, difference from normal, and comparison with history and recent years

Temperatures for the rest of the month are rarely sultry but mostly spring-like and a few degrees above normal. In Raleigh, where March’s average high is 63.3°F, peaking at 70 degrees on 17 days of the previous month. That ties in with the most warm 4th days in any March there, and the most since 21 such days in 2012.

However, in between those warmer days, we had a couple of cool nights at the wrong time as spring planting work was underway.

Above March 13temperatures drop for teens and 20s statewide, damaged some strawberry and blueberry plants which has blossomed.

Temperatures below freezing are also common above March 28guarantee a Ice advice for the External Bank divisions.

Those events are good reminders that even in a warm spring, the last freeze This usually doesn’t happen until early to mid-April, so it may be wise to keep sensitive plants indoors or avoid planting altogether for a few more weeks.

Photo of frost damage on tomato leaves
Freezing damage on tomato plant leaves from the March 28 freeze in southeastern NC. (Photo by The Millennial Gardener)





Source link

news7g

News7g: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button