Source: NC CLIMATE OFFICE, 8/3/22

The heat held on in July, joined by locally heavy rainfall that improved drought conditions. We also review recent weather using the new Almanac feature in our Station Scout tool.

The Peak of Summer Heat
Climatologically speaking, July is our hottest month of the year, and last month indeed saw the temperatures dialed up, even compared to typical mid-summer levels. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reports a preliminary statewide average temperature of 78.8°F, which ranks as our 18th-warmest July since 1895.

The month was notable for several stretches of heat, beginning just after Independence Day. With high pressure in place over the Southeast US, temperatures reached 102°F in Raleigh on July 6 and 7 to tie its record high on both days.

That makes three hundred-degree days for the capital city so far this summer, which is the most at this point in the year since the nine triple-digit days in both 2011 and 2012. Raleigh has also reached at least 90 degrees on 48 days in 2022, which is the fourth-most through the end of July dating back to 1887.

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