Source: NC CLIMATE OFFICE, 6/4/18


Between torrential flood-causing rainfall and warm, humid weather, it was an active and often uncomfortable May weather-wise. Our latest climate summary takes a look at the past month in North Carolina, including an interesting observation from one of our stations.

Record-Setting Rainfall
This year's April showers continued into May, as widespread rainfall produced our wettest May on record dating back to 1895. The preliminary statewide average precipitation was 8.34 inches -- more than double the 1981-2010 average of 3.86 inches, and a half-inch more than the previous record from May 1901.

A number of weather stations around the state also reported record-breaking May rainfall. Along the coast, Wilmington (14.36 inches) had its wettest May dating back 145 years.

It was an even wetter month in the southern Mountains, where loads of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico -- including some brought in by the landfalling Subtropical Storm Alberto -- doused the region with more than a foot of rainfall.

For the full report, click here.