Climate Summary

Temperature and Precipitation by climate division
Departures from Normal for July 2010 - based on preliminary data.

July 2010 in North Carolina was warm and dry. While not quite as hot as in June 2010, temperatures ranked as one of the top 5 warmest on record for locations including Raleigh, Greensboro, Reidsville, Wilkesboro, Banner Elk, Lenoir, Hickory, Lincolnton, and Murphy. Combined with the heat of July were more dry conditions, especially across eastern NC and in far western counties. Central NC fared better, with much of the Yadkin River Basin above normal for the month. Statewide, temperatures ranked as the 10th warmest since 1895 and the 32nd driest on record.

Precipitation for July 2010
Based on estimates from NWS Radar
Data courtesy NWS/NCEP

Precipitation for July 2010: Percent of Normal
Based on estimates from NWS Radar
Data courtesy NWS/NCEP

Impacts to Agriculture and Water Resources

Heat and dry conditions continued to cause problems for crops, especially corn in eastern NC and pastures in western NC. Reports from the NC Department of Agriculture suggest that the corn crop may be completely lost for some growers in eastern NC. Other reports suggest ranchers in western NC were turning to hay for feed early because pastures were dry and unproductive. Due to these impacts, drought designations were introduced in western and eastern counties. According to the US Drought Monitor, Moderate Drought (D1) was observed at the end of July in mountain counties and the northern coastal plain, while Severe Drought (D2) was also observed in a few northeastern counties.

So far, the hot and dry conditions have had less of an impact on water resources as compared to agricultural resources. While streams in areas of northeastern NC and western counties are dropping into drought ranges, most reservoirs and groundwater monitors report near normal conditions. The NC Drought Management Advisory Council continues to have weekly technical conferences to review conditions and make recommendations to the US Drought Monitor.

It's Hurricane Season Again...

Government and University scientists expect this year's hurricane season to be busy. While we’ve already had 3 named storms so far, August – October is when most storms develop. To help provide information on historical tropical cyclones and their frequency, we’ve updated the Hurricanes section of our website. First introduced last year, these pages included a multitude of information on tropical cyclones, including a general climatology of storms in the Atlantic basin, basic definitions of tropical cyclone categories and the Saffir-Simpson scale, and an explanation of the conditions needed for storm development.

Tropical cyclone statistics for North Carolina have recently been updated to provide more accurate landfall and influence statistics using a geographic information system (GIS). Using a GIS, the pages now allow users to look at the frequency of storms that come within a range of distances and for all southeastern States. In addition, we are currently ingesting from the National Hurricane Center's FTP site to ensure our database contains a more accurate dataset. Below you will find NC tropical cyclone statistics for a 25- and 150-mile radius.

Tropical cyclone statistics for North Carolina, assuming a 25-mile storm radius

Tropical cyclone statistics for North Carolina, assuming a 150-mile storm radius

And while no one wishes for the damage that can come with tropical cyclones, it is important to remember that these storms are part of our climate and can bring beneficial rainfall. Indeed, preliminary results from an ongoing study suggest that since 1995, tropical cyclones contribute more than 15% to our warm season precipitation totals. Unfortunately, these storms can also bring severe weather and flooding. For all of our data hungry users out there, we’ve also just finished work on a new tool to track storm reports.

Local Storm Reports Database

The Local Storm Reports Database is a new, interactive product that provides easy access to storm report data from around the country. At the heart of the database are Local Storm Reports issued by the National Weather Service. These reports cover a variety of events, including thunderstorm and winter weather hazards, storm damage, high winds, flooding and heavy rain. Each report includes the event's date and time, location and a brief description.

There are two ways to search the Local Storm Reports Database: by date and by location.

A date search returns a map with events, color-coded by event type, plotted on it. Event types can be toggled on and off, and events can be filtered by the time of day.

A location search returns both a table of nearby events (displayed ten at a time) and a map showing these events. All columns of the table -- Event Type, Date, Time and Distance -- are sortable.

Clicking an event on the map of either the date search results or the location search results brings up an information box containing details about that event. Clicking the "more details" link in this box loads up a page containing the complete event information. This page includes links to the national radar and satellite images at the time of the event, along with that day's weather data from nearby COOP weather stations.

Data is currently available since May 2001. New events are added daily to ensure the Local Storm Reports database stays up-to-date.