Source: Corey Davis, NC CLIMATE OFFICE, 1/24/22


Our weather has taken a “new year, new me” approach to 2022, with the warm and dry pattern from late 2021 replaced by a decidedly cooler and wetter one.

That has included three impactful winter storms — on January 3, January 16, and January 21 — that affected all corners of the state in one of our snowiest months in several years.

January 3: Winter Waltzes In
Unseasonable warmth from December spilled over into the new year – with record highs in the 70s on New Year’s Day – but it was abruptly replaced by a wintry air mass on the tumultuous first Monday of 2022.

Low pressure developed along a strong cold front that morning, and that tandem produced all four seasons’ worth of weather in just 24 hours.

Precipitation began as rain and totaled up to 4 inches in Raleigh. The 2.05 inches in Elizabeth City made January 3 the wettest single day there since August 4 of last year.

As cold air rushed in behind the front, precipitation switched over to snow, accumulating up to 10 inches at Jonas Ridge in northern Burke County, with totals of 1 to 3 inches across the northern Piedmont.

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