Source: Corey Davis, NC CLIMATE OFFICE, 3/16/21


Chalk it up to atmospheric anomalies or a forecast without foresight. Either way, this winter defied expectations and drenched most of North Carolina for yet another season.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, the three-month period from December 2020 through February 2021 ranked as our 13th-wettest winter since 1895 based on the statewide average precipitation of 15.26 inches, or 3.83 inches above normal.

Such wet conditions largely made us the exception on a national level. Most of the country finished the winter with near-normal precipitation. California and parts of the Deep South were a bit drier, while eastern North Carolina through the mid-Atlantic region stands out as wetter.

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