Source: Corey Davis, NC CLIMATE OFFICE, 2/3/22


In all its forms, precipitation piled up in a wet January, although drought remains in some areas. Cool weather also reversed our warm December pattern – but how long will it stick around?

Frozen Precipitation Fuels a Wet Month
The skies opened up and brought a variety of precipitation types, which added up to make for an overall wet month. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reports a preliminary statewide average precipitation of 4.70 inches and our 29th-wettest January since 1895.

The eastern Piedmont was one of the wettest areas after that mixed bag – from rain on January 3 to sleet on January 16 to snow on January 21. Chapel Hill had 6.26 inches of precipitation and its 11th-wettest January out of the past 122 years, while Raleigh received 5.97 inches to tie for its 13th-wettest January on record.

Farther east, Roanoke Rapids had 6.64 inches, or 2.98 inches above normal, and its 2nd-wettest January since 1962. At Hatteras, the 7.10 inches made for the 14th-wettest January on record there.
It was also a notably snowy month for much of the state. Edenton had 5.2 inches – mostly during the January 21 storm that brought the highest totals in the northeast – which was the most snow in a single month there since January 2018. In Charlotte, the 4.3 inches of snow was the most since 8.4 inches in February 2014.

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