Source: Corey Davis, NC CLIMATE OFFICE, 8/7/18

It was a Jekyll and Hyde weather month in North Carolina as we switched weather patterns midway through July. Our latest climate summary has a closer look at our precipitation swings, moderate temperatures, and an update on ENSO conditions in the Pacific.

From Bone Dry to Soaking Wet

It was a tale of two halves of the month, marked by an atmospheric pattern shift in the middle of July. The wet ending left us with above-normal precipitation overall, as the preliminary statewide average precipitation of 6.79 inches ranked as our 27th-wettest July on record.

The first two weeks of the month were dry almost everywhere, with less than 2 inches of rain reported in most locations and less than an inch in some parts of the Piedmont. During that time, the jet stream was well to the north, which allowed warm air to move in from the south and blanket much of the continental US with above-normal temperatures.

By the middle of the month, a trough in the jet stream formed over the eastern US. Following this storm track, several systems dropped down from the Ohio Valley to soak the mountains, and by the end of the month, the eastern half of the state also saw heavy rainfall as moisture-rich air moved in from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Cape Hatteras was the epicenter for wet weather last month. On five out of the six days between July 20 and 25, the Hatteras Airport received more than two inches of rainfall. For the month as a whole, that station reported 20.31 inches of precipitation -- not only their wettest July on record dating back 125 years, but also the wettest month on record at Hatteras, surpassing September 1989, when they received exactly 20 inches.

For the full report, click here.