December 2011 Climate Summary - North Carolina
Ryan Boyles, State Climate Office of North Carolina
Climate Summary: Warm, Wet, and a Bit Stormy
Temperature and Precipitation by Climate Division
Departures from Normal for November 2011
Based on Preliminary Data
November 2011 in North Carolina was warm and wet, especially in western North Carolina. Two major storms produced over 10 inches in parts of western NC. The last storm of the month produced flooding in the southern mountains. On November 16, a severe line of storms ripped across state, producing hail, damaging winds, and an EF2 tornado in Davidson and Randolph Counties. Statewide average precipitation for November 2011 ranked as the 18th wettest November since 1895.
The first half of November was a bit chilly, with many locations experiencing temperatures that ranked in the top 20 coldest on average. In contrast, the last 2 weeks of November were very warm, with temperatures that ranked in the top 10 warmest on record. Over all, temperatures in November 2011 averages to be warmer than normal with statewide average temperature ranking as the 36th warmest since 1895.
Local Storms Reports for November 2011
Preliminary Count of LSRs courtesy National Weather Service - http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/lsrdb/index.php
Precipitation for November 2011
Based on estimates from NWS Radar -Data courtesy NWS/NCEP
Precipitation for November 2011: Percent of Normal
Based on estimates from NWS Radar - Data courtesy NWS/NCEP
Impacts to Agriculture and Water Resources
As most warm season commodities have been harvested, the primary agricultural impacts in November were in winter grains. Adequate moisture in the topsoil has generally led to successful planting. Impacts to water resources were substantial in western NC, where heavy rain in the last few days of November was sufficient to eliminate drought impacts in the southwestern Piedmont. However, much of NC east of I-95 did not experience the beneficial rains, and areas of the southern coastal plain remain in moderate drought.
US Drought Monitor for North Carolina
Courtesy NC DENR Division of Water Resources
Seasonal Climate Summary: September – November (Autumn) 2011
We’re trying something new this month – a brief seasonal summary to put the past season into perspective. Let us know if you like this – it takes a bit more time but we think it might be of interest to some folks.
Let’s start with temperatures – after a very hot summer, temperatures were generally on the warm side during the autumn, at least in central and eastern NC. However, temperatures in western NC were cooler than normal. This is depicted nicely in the map below, which shows the percentiles in temperature distribution for sites across the region. Lower percentiles with cooler colors represent locations that were cool, while higher values and warmer colors represent locations that were warm for this time of year. Values in white represent more normal ranges for temperatures, generally between the 25th and 75th percentile (more typical temperatures for autumn).
In terms of rainfall, central and western NC did fairly well, as reflected both in the rainfall maps and in the improvements in drought conditions as compared to summer. And while eastern NC experienced somewhat drier conditions in September-November, remember that they were drenched with 7-14 inches from Hurricane Irene in August, which eliminated drought in that area overnight.
Precipitation for Autumn 2011: Percent of Normal
Based on estimates from NWS Radar Data courtesy NWS/NCEP
But the most interesting part of the past season is that it was relatively calm in terms of severe weather, especially in contrast to the previous seasons. During the summer, spring, and winter of 2011, NC experienced a hurricane, extreme heat & drought, a major tornado outbreak, and major winter storms. So in comparison, Autumn 2011 seemed quite mild.
Statewide Summary for November 2011
As part of the monthly newsletter, the SCO provides a basic summary of monthly conditions for ECONet stations. A daily version of this product for all locations that have an automated reporting station is available online at: http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/cronos/review
|
Station
|
Avg Daily
Max Temp |
Avg Daily
Min Temp |
Total
Rainfall |
Avg Daily
Wind Speed |
Max Daily
Wind Speed |
Vector Avg
Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Boone, NC (BOON)
|
59.8° F
(+7.8° F) 1 mi |
35.9° F
(+6.4° F) 1 mi |
6.6 in
|
5.1 mph
|
28.7 mph
|
3.1 mph
West Southwest (237°) |
|
Buckland, NC (BUCK)
|
67° F
(+4.1° F) 15 mi |
42° F
(+4.6° F) 15 mi |
1.4 in
|
2.4 mph
|
21.5 mph
|
0.5 mph
West Southwest (257°) |
|
Burnsville, NC (BURN)
|
59.5° F
(+0.3° F) 8 mi |
33° F
(+2.6° F) 8 mi |
5.5 in
|
3.5 mph
|
45.4 mph
|
0.5 mph
North Northwest (344°) |
|
Castle Hayne, NC (CAST)
|
69.2° F
(+1.5° F) 0 mi |
44.5° F
(+1.3° F) 0 mi |
2.5 in
|
3.9 mph
|
26.8 mph
|
1.2 mph
North Northwest (336°) |
|
Clayton, NC (CLAY)
|
66.7° F
(+4.1° F) 3 mi |
44° F
(+5.3° F) 3 mi |
2.9 in
|
5 mph
|
25.5 mph
|
1.7 mph
West Southwest (257°) |
|
Clayton, NC (CLA2)
|
68.2° F
(+5.6° F) 3 mi |
41.1° F
(+2.4° F) 3 mi |
3.2 in
|
1.8 mph
|
19 mph
|
0.5 mph
West (277°) |
|
Clinton, NC (CLIN)
|
67.9° F
(+3° F) 0 mi |
43.3° F
(+2.2° F) 0 mi |
2.2 in
|
4.5 mph
|
25.9 mph
|
1.6 mph
Southeast (133°) |
|
Fletcher, NC (FLET)
|
60.8° F
(+2.6° F) 0 mi |
35.5° F
(+3.9° F) 0 mi |
5 in
|
3 mph
|
25.5 mph
|
0.8 mph
North (356°) |
|
Franklin, NC (WINE)
|
49.6° F
(-9.9° F) 11 mi |
33.1° F
(+0.5° F) 11 mi |
10.2 in
|
7.1 mph
|
28.4 mph
|
3.5 mph
West Southwest (257°) |
|
Goldsboro, NC (GOLD)
|
67.7° F
(+1.4° F) 5 mi |
42.7° F
(+0.1° F) 5 mi |
3 in
|
3.9 mph
|
26.9 mph
|
0.9 mph
Southwest (221°) |
|
Greensboro, NC (NCAT)
|
64° F
(+4.1° F) 12 mi |
41.2° F
(+2.6° F) 12 mi |
6.2 in
|
4 mph
|
30.2 mph
|
2.2 mph
West Southwest (247°) |
|
Hamlet, NC (HAML)
|
68° F
(+3.1° F) 4 mi |
40.2° F
(+3° F) 4 mi |
4.6 in
|
4.2 mph
|
26.6 mph
|
0.6 mph
West (269°) |
|
Hendersonville, NC (BEAR)
|
50.6° F
(-9.7° F) 7 mi |
37° F
(+2.6° F) 7 mi |
8 in
|
12.7 mph
|
46.6 mph
|
6 mph
West Southwest (246°) |
|
High Point, NC (HIGH)
|
64° F
(+2.1° F) 2 mi |
39.7° F
(+0.1° F) 2 mi |
4.1 in
|
2 mph
|
19.6 mph
|
0.6 mph
West Southwest (255°) |
|
Jackson Springs, NC (JACK)
|
65.4° F
(+3° F) 0 mi |
44° F
(+2.2° F) 0 mi |
5.3 in
|
5.5 mph
|
26.6 mph
|
0.7 mph
West (271°) |
|
Kinston, NC (KINS)
|
67.8° F
(-0.9° F) 0 mi |
44.8° F
(+1.9° F) 0 mi |
1.6 in
|
4.9 mph
|
29.1 mph
|
1.5 mph
West Southwest (241°) |
|
Laurel Springs, NC (LAUR)
|
55.5° F
(+2.3° F) 1 mi |
35° F
(+6.6° F) 1 mi |
5.9 in
|
4.7 mph
|
30.3 mph
|
1.4 mph
Southwest (233°) |
|
Lewiston, NC (LEWS)
|
66.8° F
(+3.1° F) 0 mi |
42.8° F
(+3.5° F) 0 mi |
1.8 in
|
4.9 mph
|
28.7 mph
|
1.3 mph
West (261°) |
|
Lilesville, NC (LILE)
|
67.3° F
(+3.1° F) 9 mi |
42.9° F
(+0.9° F) 9 mi |
2.7 in
|
5.1 mph
|
26.6 mph
|
1.7 mph
North (360°) |
|
New London, NC (NEWL)
|
65.6° F
(+3° F) 2 mi |
38° F
(+0.6° F) 2 mi |
3.2 in
|
3.1 mph
|
44.3 mph
|
0.5 mph
Northwest (322°) |
|
Oxford, NC (OXFO)
|
64.6° F
(+3.6° F) 0 mi |
41.9° F
(+4.5° F) 0 mi |
3.5 in
|
2.8 mph
|
21 mph
|
1.3 mph
Southwest (236°) |
|
Plymouth, NC (PLYM)
|
67° F
(+1° F) 2 mi |
42.8° F
(+0.2° F) 2 mi |
2.3 in
|
6.9 mph
|
32.8 mph
|
1.3 mph
West Northwest (302°) |
|
Raleigh, NC (LAKE)
|
66.2° F
(+3.2° F) 0 mi |
43.2° F
(+1.3° F) 0 mi |
3.1 in
|
5.6 mph
|
28 mph
|
2.2 mph
West (265°) |
|
Raleigh, NC (REED)
|
66.4° F
(+5.1° F) 3 mi |
43.7° F
(+2.1° F) 3 mi |
6.3 in
|
3.3 mph
|
32.6 mph
|
1.2 mph
West Northwest (288°) |
|
Reidsville, NC (REID)
|
63.5° F
(+2.8° F) 0 mi |
42.5° F
(+4.5° F) 0 mi |
8.1 in
|
4.3 mph
|
28.6 mph
|
2.4 mph
West (259°) |
|
Rocky Mount, NC (ROCK)
|
67.3° F
(+3.1° F) 0 mi |
43.3° F
(+2.7° F) 0 mi |
2.5 in
|
4.5 mph
|
29 mph
|
0.9 mph
West Southwest (254°) |
|
Salisbury, NC (SALI)
|
63.7° F
(+2.9° F) 0 mi |
37.7° F
(+1.6° F) 0 mi |
7 in
|
2.7 mph
|
26.9 mph
|
0.8 mph
West Southwest (254°) |
|
Siler City, NC (SILR)
|
65.4° F
(+3.2° F) 5 mi |
37.6° F
(-0.9° F) 5 mi |
4.3 in
|
3.8 mph
|
17.5 mph
|
1 mph
West (259°) |
|
Taylorsville, NC (TAYL)
|
62.6° F
|
36.8° F
|
4.7 in
|
2.2 mph
|
34.7 mph
|
0.7 mph
Southwest (227°) |
|
Wallace, NC (WILD)
|
69.8° F
(+1.3° F) 8 mi |
41.2° F
(-2.9° F) 8 mi |
2.5 in
|
4.4 mph
|
49 mph
|
0.7 mph
West Northwest (293°) |
|
Waynesville, NC (WAYN)
|
59.9° F
(+1.6° F) 0 mi |
34.7° F
(+4.9° F) 0 mi |
4.5 in
|
2.1 mph
|
26.2 mph
|
0.3 mph
Southwest (227°) |
|
Whiteville, NC (WHIT)
|
68.8° F
(-0.4° F) 0 mi |
42.1° F
(+0.7° F) 0 mi |
3.1 in
|
2.9 mph
|
23.4 mph
|
0.4 mph
West Northwest (293°) |
|
Williamston, NC (WILL)
|
67.6° F
(+3.3° F) 4 mi |
43.9° F
(+2.7° F) 4 mi |
2.8 in
|
3 mph
|
22.1 mph
|
0.8 mph
West (260°) |
| Legend: |
| Parameter |
| Parameter's value approximated from hourly data. ( +/- Departure from normal ) Distance to reference station |