2007 Climate Summary for Southeastern North Carolina & Northeastern South Carolina

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
534 PM EST TUE JAN 1 2008

...CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR 2007...

2007 WILL BE FOREVER KNOWN AS ONE OF THE DRIEST IN HISTORY ACROSS
MUCH OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES INCLUDING THE CAROLINAS. 
THE DROUGHT REACHED EXTREME TO EXCEPTIONAL VALUES DURING THE SUMMER
AND FALL MONTHS AND LED TO WATER RESOURCE ISSUES ARISING. IN
ADDITION TO THE DROUGHT...TEMPERATURES AVERAGED 1 TO 2 DEGREES
ABOVE NORMAL WITH MUCH OF THE ABNORMAL WARMTH CONCENTRATED IN
THE LATE SUMMER AND EARLY FALL.

THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES OF THE YEAR OCCURRED DURING AN ARCTIC
OUTBREAK FEBRUARY 15-17. TEMPERATURES FELL TO AROUND 20 WITH SOME
TEENS REPORTED FROM NORMALLY COLDER LOCATIONS. DESPITE 
TEMPERATURES AVERAGING ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE MONTH OF MARCH...
A PERIOD OF UNSEASONABLE COLD APRIL 6-10 BROUGHT OVERNIGHT LOW
TEMPERATURES IN THE 20S AND LOWER 30S. THIS IS WELL AFTER THE
NORMAL START TO THE GROWING SEASON...AND THE AGRICULTURAL LOSSES
TO THE LOCAL BLUEBERRY...STRAWBERRY AND CORN CROP WERE SIGNIFICANT. 
THIS LATE FREEZE ALSO GAVE 2007 ONE OF THE SHORTEST GROWING
SEASONS ON RECORD...ONLY LASTING 211 DAYS IN BOTH WILMINGTON
AND FLORENCE. NORMAL GROWING SEASON LENGTHS ARE 243 DAYS AND 236
DAYS RESPECTIVELY.

THE SEVERE WEATHER SEVERE WAS NOT PARTICULARLY ACTIVE IN 2007
BUT DAMAGING STORMS DID OCCUR ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. ON APRIL 15TH
A STRONG LOW AND COLD FRONT MOVED THROUGH THE EASTERN CAROLINAS
PRODUCING WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE ACROSS HORRY INTO BRUNSWICK AND
PENDER COUNTIES. A COLD FRONT BROUGHT WIDESPREAD ONE-INCH DIAMETER
HAIL ACROSS NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA ON MAY 3RD. SEVERE STORMS
DEVELOPED ON JUNE 4TH AND 5TH ALONG THE SEABREEZE FRONT PRODUCING
DAMAGING WIND AND HAIL...INCLUDING DESTROYING SIGNS...ROOFS AND
A BILLBOARD NEAR FLORENCE ON THE EVENING OF THE 5TH. ON AUGUST
11TH A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM TOPPLED TREES AND OVERTURNED A MOBILE
HOME NEAR GREEN SEA IN HORRY COUNTY INJURING 7.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVERAL YEARS THE CAPE FEAR OR GRAND 
STRAND AREAS DID NOT RECEIVE A STRIKE BY A TROPICAL SYSTEM.
ON JUNE 3 THE EXTRATROPICAL REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM BARRY
MOVED ALONG THE COAST DROPPING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. 1 TO 3
INCHES OF RAIN FELL OVER MOST OF THE AREA...WITH 3.43 INCHES
REPORTED NEAR HEMINGWAY SC. TROPICAL STORM GABRIELLE MADE A CLOSE 
APPROACH TO THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA ON SEPTEMBER 
9TH...ULTIMATELY MAKING LANDFALL NEAR CAPE LOOKOUT. ALTHOUGH
NOT TROPICAL IN NATURE...A DEEP COLD-CORE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
BROUGHT STRONG WINDS TO MUCH OF THE CAROLINAS APRIL 15-17TH. 
WINDS DUE TO THE STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT AROUND THE LOW REACHED
AS HIGH AS 45 MPH IN WILMINGTON...AND GALE WARNINGS WERE POSTED 
FOR THE COASTAL WATERS.

A PERIOD OF EXTREME HEAT DEVELOPED DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST
AND LED TO DAILY...MONTHLY...AND EVEN ALL-TIME TEMPERATURE RECORDS
BEING BROKEN ACROSS INLAND PORTIONS OF THE CAROLINAS. FLORENCE SC
RECORDED HIGHS AT OR ABOVE 100 DEGREES ON TEN DAYS IN AUGUST.
BOTH FLORENCE AND LUMBERTON HIT 106 DEGREES THREE DAYS IN A ROW 
AUGUST 8-10. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE ANYWHERE IN OUR AREA WAS 107 
AT THE PEE DEE AG RESEARCH STATION ON AUGUST 10TH. THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE IN FLORENCE FOR AUGUST WAS 85.6 DEGREES WHICH SMASHED
THE PREVIOUS WARMEST MONTHLY TEMPERATURE BY 1.4 DEGREES. (1975)

THE DROUGHT WORSENED THROUGH THE SPRING AND SUMMER AND BY FALL
SOME STATIONS HAD RECEIVED ONLY 50 PERCENT OF THEIR NORMAL RAINFALL
FOR THE YEAR. ABSOLUTE DEPARTURES ENDED THE YEAR AT THEIR WORST
POINT IN WILMINGTON WITH AN ACCUMULATED DEFICIT OF 23.71 INCHES.
HEMINGWAY SC...ANDREWS SC...AND LONGWOOD NC ALL RECORDED LESS THAN
ONE TENTH OF AN INCH OF RAINFALL DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.
WILD FIRES SPREAD ACROSS PORTIONS OF ROBESON AND BLADEN COUNTIES 
DURING NOVEMBER FORCING HIGHWAY CLOSURES DUE TO THICK SMOKE. 
ALTHOUGH OCCASIONAL RAINS BEGAN FALLING AGAIN IN DECEMBER...2008
WILL BEGIN WITH A LARGE ACCUMULATED RAINFALL DEFICIT.


WILMINGTON 2007 CLIMATE DATA
    AVG HI/DEP  AVG LO/DEP  AVG T/DEP  WARMEST  COOLEST  PCPN/DEP
JAN  59.7/+3.4   39.0/+3.2  49.4/+3.3    76       27     4.43/-0.09
FEB  56.5/-3.0   33.4/-4.1  45.0/-3.5    74       20     2.06/-1.60 
MAR  69.8/+3.6   44.7/+1.0  57.3/+2.3    86       29     1.56/-2.66
APR  74.0/-0.1   49.7/-1.5  61.8/-0.9    88       29     1.29/-1.65
MAY  79.6/-1.0   57.6/-2.2  68.6/-1.6    90       45     1.63/-2.77
JUN  86.6/+0.2   67.6/+0.0  77.1/+0.1    96       57     3.64/-1.72
JUL  88.6/-1.3   69.7/-2.6  79.2/-1.9    98       59     5.44/-2.18
AUG  90.5/+2.2   73.2/+0.0  81.9/+2.2   100       68     2.89/-4.42
SEP  85.0/+0.9   66.1/+0.2  75.6/+0.6    94       55     4.60/-2.19
OCT  80.0/+4.5   61.1/+7.2  70.5/+5.7    91       43     2.17/-1.04
NOV  67.2/-0.6   42.8/-2.3  55.0/-1.5    81       28     0.60/-2.66
DEC  64.8/+5.3   42.1/+4.0  53.5/+4.6    79       21     3.05/-0.73
===================================================================
ANN  75.2/+1.2   53.9/+0.4  64.6/+0.8   100       20    33.36/-23.71

DAYS WITH PRECIPITATION...   0.01 OR MORE: 89
                             0.10 OR MORE: 56
                             0.50 OR MORE: 22
                             1.00 OR MORE: 12
                             MAXIMUM IN 24 HOUR PERIOD: 2.14

AVERAGE OBSERVED RELATIVE HUMIDITY: 66 PERCENT

DEGREE DAYS...  HEATING DEGREE DAYS: 2192    COOLING DEGREE DAYS: 2167

THERE WERE 45 DAYS WITH HIGHS 90+...AND 35 DAYS WITH LOWS 32 OR COLDER



FLORENCE 2007 CLIMATE DATA
    AVG HI/DEP  AVG LO/DEP  AVG T/DEP  WARMEST  COOLEST  PCPN/DEP
JAN  58.9/+4.1   38.2/+3.0  48.6/+3.6    76       23     2.50/-1.59
FEB  57.5/-1.6   33.6/-4.0  45.6/-2.8    75       21     1.61/-1.41
MAR  72.3/+5.1   45.4/+1.0  58.8/+3.0    89       26     2.23/-1.77
APR  75.1/-0.1   48.4/-2.6  61.8/-1.3    88       26     3.88/+1.09
MAY  81.7/-0.3   57.6/-2.3  69.7/-1.3    91       47     3.68/+0.37
JUN  87.6/+0.0   67.9/+0.3  77.8/+0.2    96       60     7.40/+3.13
JUL  89.0/-1.7   69.7/-1.9  79.4/-1.8    94       59     2.41/-2.87
AUG  97.0/+7.9   73.7/+3.3  85.4/+5.6   106       54     1.70/-3.63
SEP  88.5/+4.2   65.7/+0.7  77.1/+2.4    97       54     1.00/-2.67
OCT  80.8/+5.6   58.7/+5.8  69.8/+5.7    92       41     4.22/+1.28
NOV  67.3/+0.7   41.2/-3.0  54.2/-1.2    80       28     0.22/-2.37
DEC  63.5/+5.9   41.9/+4.5  52.7/+5.2    80       21     4.52/+1.05
===================================================================
ANN  76.6/+2.5   53.5/+0.8  65.1/+1.5   106       21    35.37/-9.39

DAYS WITH PRECIPITATION...   0.01 OR MORE: 86
                             0.10 OR MORE: 57
                             0.50 OR MORE: 21
                             1.00 OR MORE: 14
                             MAXIMUM IN 24 HOUR PERIOD: 2.33

AVERAGE OBSERVED RELATIVE HUMIDITY: 64 PERCENT

DEGREE DAYS...  HEATING DEGREE DAYS: 2194    COOLING DEGREE DAYS: 2351

THERE WERE 79 DAYS WITH HIGHS 90+...AND 37 DAYS WITH LOWS 32 OR COLDER



LUMBERTON 2007 CLIMATE DATA
    AVG HI/DEP  AVG LO/DEP  AVG T/DEP  WARMEST  COOLEST  PCPN/DEP
JAN  57.5/+3.9   37.3/+6.8  47.4/+5.3    74       24     1.75/-2.54
FEB  55.1/-2.5   31.9/-0.4  43.5/-1.5    74       19     1.07/-2.30
MAR  70.6/+5.1   43.7/+4.4  57.2/+4.8    85       25     0.92/-3.39
APR  73.6/-0.7   46.0/-0.6  59.8/-0.7    86       22     3.26/+0.42
MAY  81.5/+0.1   56.4/+1.1  68.9/+0.5    92       45     1.38/-2.59
JUN  88.5/+1.2   67.3/+3.5  77.9/+2.3    97       56     3.16/-1.40
JUL  91.4/+1.2   69.0/+0.9  80.2/+1.0    99       59        M/M
AUG  96.4/+7.7   72.7/+6.2  84.5/+6.9   106       65     5.18/+0.02
SEP  87.1/+3.2   64.2/+3.9  75.6/+3.5    95       51     0.72/-3.89
OCT  80.5/+5.5   57.8/+10.9 69.2/+8.2    93       36     2.19/-1.17
NOV  66.3/-0.1   38.8/-0.4  52.6/-0.2    79       27     0.11/-2.58
DEC  62.5/+5.7   40.0/+7.5  51.3/+6.6    80       20     2.70/-0.52
===================================================================
ANN  75.9/+2.5   52.1/+3.7  64.0/+3.0   106       19        M/M

DAYS WITH PRECIPITATION...   0.01 OR MORE: M
                             0.10 OR MORE: M
                             0.50 OR MORE: M
                             1.00 OR MORE: M
                             MAXIMUM IN 24 HOUR PERIOD: M

AVERAGE OBSERVED RELATIVE HUMIDITY: 65 PERCENT

DEGREE DAYS...  HEATING DEGREE DAYS: 2477    COOLING DEGREE DAYS: 2260

THERE WERE 82 DAYS WITH HIGHS 90+...AND 52 DAYS WITH LOWS 32 OR COLDER



NORTH MYRTLE BEACH 2007 CLIMATE DATA
    AVG HI/DEP  AVG LO/DEP  AVG T/DEP  WARMEST  COOLEST  PCPN/DEP
JAN  59.4/+2.9   40.9/+4.1  50.1/+3.3    75       28     3.28/-0.38
FEB  56.3/-1.5   36.4/-1.5  46.4/-1.5    75       23     2.45/-1.05
MAR  67.5/+4.7   46.0/+3.0  56.8/+3.1    84       28     1.11/-2.68
APR  71.6/+0.1   49.5/-2.5  60.6/-1.4    85       29     1.23/-0.89
MAY  78.5/-0.2   58.7/-2.0  68.6/-1.4    89       46     0.90/-2.09
JUN  83.7/-0.9   69.1/+1.0  76.4/-0.2    93       59     4.24/+0.58
JUL  87.0/+0.2   71.3/-0.2  79.2/-0.3    95       62     2.64/-2.55
AUG  89.0/+2.7   75.3/+4.4  82.1/+3.2    95       70     8.13/+2.55
SEP  84.5/+2.2   67.7/+1.9  76.1/+1.9    91       57     1.62/-3.96
OCT  79.5/+5.0   62.4/+7.9  70.9/+6.1    89       47     4.52/+1.29
NOV  66.6/+1.0   43.3/+0.0  55.0/+0.4    81       29     0.34/-2.63
DEC  63.8/+5.9   42.7/+5.6  53.3/+5.5    79       21     2.72/-0.73
===================================================================
ANN  73.9/+1.8   55.3/+1.8  64.6/+1.8    95       21    33.18/-12.54

DAYS WITH PRECIPITATION...   0.01 OR MORE: 82
                             0.10 OR MORE: 52
                             0.50 OR MORE: 21
                             1.00 OR MORE: 8 
                             MAXIMUM IN 24 HOUR PERIOD: 3.27

AVERAGE OBSERVED RELATIVE HUMIDITY: 70 PERCENT

DEGREE DAYS...  HEATING DEGREE DAYS: 2077    COOLING DEGREE DAYS: 2102

THERE WERE 24 DAYS WITH HIGHS 90+...AND 28 DAYS WITH LOWS 32 OR COLDER

$$

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