Climate Summary

Temperature and Precipitation by climate division
Departures from Normal for September 2011
Based on Preliminary Data

September 2011 was generally a bit warm and wet in North Carolina. Temperatures were generally near normal, especially compared to the extreme heat experienced in previous months. Rain fell in generous amounts in central and western NC where it was most needed, while the coastal plain was able to dry out a bit after the deluge brought by Hurricane Irene in August. Statewide average temperatures ranked as the 48th warmest since 1895 and statewide precipitation ranked as the 22nd wettest since 1895.

There were few damaging storms in September, which was welcome after the damages from Hurricane Irene. One storm did bring heavy rainfall (4+ inches) to western and central North Carolina, which produced some localized flooding especially in urban areas.

Local Storms Reports for September 2011
Preliminary Count of LSRs courtesy National Weather Service
http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/lsrdb/index.php

Precipitation for September 2011
Based on estimates from NWS Radar
Data courtesy NWS/NCEP

Precipitation for September 2011: Percent of Normal
Based on estimates from NWS Radar
Data courtesy NWS/NCEP

Impacts to Agriculture and Water Resources

Above normal precipitation in central and western NC certainly helped the drought situation. While agriculture production is winding down for most annual commodities, the rainfall in September produced benefits for pastures and water supplies. As of the last week in September, only a few counties in the southwestern Piedmont and southern Coastal Plain were experiencing any drought impacts.

US Drought Monitor for North Carolina
Courtesy NC DENR Division of Water Resources

Holiday Climatology

As the holiday season draws nearer, the SCO often receives several requests for weather extremes observed on various holidays, including those that aren't observed on the same date every year. As a result of this, our office created a holiday climatology a few years ago for all historical National Weather Service Cooperative stations across the Southeast. NWS Cooperative stations have the best long-term record of temperature and precipitation, and can be found in most counties across North Carolina.

For the month of October, holidays include Columbus Day and Halloween. Historical extremes for our state during these holidays are as follows:

Columbus Day

• The warmest Columbus Day occurred on October 8, 2007 at Cedar Island (311606), with a maximum temperature of 98°F and a minimum temperature of 67°F.
• The coldest Columbus Day occurred on October 9, 2000 at Mt. Mitchell (315923), with a maximum temperature of 35°F and a minimum temperature of 18°F.
• The wettest Columbus Day occurred on October 10, 2005 at Aurora 6 N (310375), where 8.76 inches of precipitation was observed.

Halloween

• The warmest Halloween occurred on October 31, 1971 at Southport 5 N (318113), with a maximum temperature of 90°F and a minimum temperature of 69°F.
• The coldest Halloween occurred on October 31, 1930 at Mount Mitchell (315921), with a maximum temperature of 22°F and a minimum temperature of 10°F.
• The wettest Halloween occurred on October 31, 1985 at Morehead City 2 WNW (315830), where 7.05 inches of precipitation was observed.

Below is a table of Columbus Day and Halloween extremes for a few locations across NC. To see extremes for other NC locations, or for other southeastern states, please visit the Holiday Climatology page.