A graphic promoting the drought webinar on Thursday, April 23rd at 11 am

For more about this ongoing drought and its impacts, join us for a webinar with state drought experts on Thursday, April 23rd at 11 am.

Registration is required but free at the link below. A recording and blog summary will be posted afterwards.

➡️ go.ncsu.edu/drought2026

An infographic showing the latest drought status and impacts across North Carolina

Drought continued to degrade this week, now reaching Extreme Drought (D3) levels in parts of the southern Mountains, western Piedmont, and northern Coastal Plain. #ncwx

Severe Pollen, Severe Drought, and Severe Storms Ramp Up in March - North Carolina State Climate Office Spring kicked into high gear in March, with warm weather and high pollen counts, mostly dry conditions and emerging drought impacts, and the first severe storms of the year. Warm Weather Blossoms With...

We just wrapped up one of North Carolina's top five warmest and driest Marches on record, and it saw proliferating pollen, deepening drought, and the start of our springtime severe weather in 2026. #ncwx
climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2026/04...

An infographic showing the current drought status and impacts across North Carolina

In addition to the implementation of a statewide burn ban, this week saw expanding drought, with Severe Drought (D2) now covering most of the Coastal Plain and Extreme Drought (D3) emerging in the Mountains. #ncwx

A map of total snowfall across North Carolina from November 2025 through March 2026

This winter served up a few dashes of cold and a heaping helping of snow, but we didn't quite get our fill of precipitation, leading to expanding drought.

Our winter recap looks back on the rankings, snow totals, and more from the past season. #ncwx

➡️ climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2026/03...

A temperature map of North Carolina ECONet stations. This map shows a high temperature of 78 degrees and a low temperature of 20 degrees.

Can you spot the cold front? A 58(!) degree temperature difference between warmest and coldest spots from our ECONet, including a 25 degree difference between two stations less than 30 miles from each other. #NCWx

An infographic showing the current drought conditions and impacts across North Carolina

The past week brought many signs of spring, including scattered showers and storms, but no big changes on the drought map thanks to lingering moisture from late winter. #ncwx

Snow Melted, But Severe Drought Continued in February - North Carolina State Climate Office Snow and rain each fell in an overall dry February, which featured both winter chill and spring-like warmth. In one constant last month, drought continued with no improvements just yet. A Snowy Start,...

From an early chill to the first signs of spring, February had plenty of variability, along with one constant: drought's presence in North Carolina. #ncwx

Our latest climate summary looks back at February, including why this drought has been so stubborn.
climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2026/03...

An infographic showing the current drought status and impacts in North Carolina

Our recent rainfall has finally made a difference, as surface water levels have begun to recover and parts of central and eastern NC have improved from Severe (D2) to Moderate (D1) Drought. #ncwx

An infographic showing the current drought status and impacts in North Carolina

Drought continued to expand along our coastline this week, but the recent rainfall has finally helped stabilize some streamflow and lake levels farther inland. #ncwx

An infographic showing the current drought status and impacts in North Carolina

Another week with roughly average rainfall brought little relief to entrenched drought impacts, and even Extreme Drought (D3) emergence in the drier northern Coastal Plain. #ncwx

An infographic showing the current US Drought Monitor map and drought impacts across North Carolina

Even after our big snow last weekend, we haven't seen any improvements on the drought map just yet. That's because of limited liquid totals, a slow snow melt so far, and snow subliming instead of soaking in. #ncwx

A map of the latest 6-inch snow events across North Carolina as of January 2026

From sunny 70-degree days early in the month to 20s and heavy snow later on, January was a wild weather month in North Carolina. #ncwx

Our monthly summary has more on January, including updates to our latest 1-inch, 6-inch, and 12-inch snow event maps: climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2026/02...

A map of low temperatures among the NC ECONet on February 2, 2026

This morning's lows were frigid, especially where a deep snowpack remains. 🥶

Among our ECONet, this was the coldest day in Salisbury (-2°F) since Jan. 2017, the coldest on record in Wallace (4°F) dating back to 2008, and the coldest in Whiteville (5°F) since Dec. 1989! #ncwx

A map of total snowfall in North Carolina from January 30 to February 1, 2026

While North Carolina digs out from the weekend snowstorm, we've been digging into the data. 🪏

Our latest blog has a region-by-region review of the totals, including a part of the state that hadn't seen this much snow in 67 (yes, 67!) years. #ncwx

📰: climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2026/02...

A map of total snowfall in North Carolina from January 30 to February 1, 2026

Here's our analysis of this weekend's snowfall totals across North Carolina. ❄️

Notably, portions of all 3 regions of the state (Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain) received more than a foot of snow!

Stay tuned for our full blog post writeup about this storm tomorrow. #ncwx

A map of total snow and sleet in North Carolina on January 24-25, 2026

A map of total ice accumulation in North Carolina on January 24-25, 2026

This weekend's icy event was thankfully minor but still impactful for parts of the state. #ncwx

Our latest blog post has an initial review of the storm, including snow/sleet and ice accumulation maps.

📰: climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2026/01...

The Weather Year in Review: Dry Days, Plus a Few Storms, in 2025 - North Carolina State Climate Office It’s a climate conundrum: how can a year characterized by overall dry weather be most notable for its big precipitation events? That’s the reality of 2025 in North Carolina, which featured persistent ...

Despite the dry ranking, our weather in 2025 also included some big storms, from winter snows to a summer soaking from Chantal. #ncwx

Our annual year in review has more on the stats and stories with last year's weather, plus what to watch for in 2026.

A banner advertising the State Climate Office's Year in Review Webinar on January 20 at 11 am

Next Tuesday, we'll hold our annual Year in Review webinar to go over what happened in 2025 and what to watch for in 2026. #ncwx

Register now to join us live on Tuesday at 11 am!
➡️ go.ncsu.edu/yearinreview...

An infographic describing current drought conditions and impacts across North Carolina

Dry weather continuing over the holidays has led to more drought expansion to start 2026, including Severe Drought (D2) emerging in central and western NC. #ncwx

A Divided December Started Cold, Then Heated Up - North Carolina State Climate Office December delivered mixed temperatures throughout the month, along with more dry weather and drought in central and western North Carolina. It also left us with a few more records to tally from 2025. F...

Whether you prefer winter's chill or spring-like warmth, December had both in North Carolina, adding a few more records to the collection from 2025. #ncwx

A photo of North Carolina State Climate Office staff in December 2025

On this unseasonably warm Christmas, wishing you happy holidays from our team at the North Carolina State Climate Office!

A map of total snowfall across North Carolina on December 25-26, 2010

Our latest blog post looks back to the Christmas snowstorm on December 25-26, 2010:
climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/12...

What do you remember about that event? Was it your first White Christmas? How much snow did you receive?

A Dream Come True: Remembering Our White Christmas in 2010 - North Carolina State Climate Office One of North Carolina’s rarest weather events became a reality 15 years ago as a White Christmas unfolded across the state. A two-part event on December 25 and 26, 2010, left snow falling in all 100 c...

We’re just one week away from Christmas – and the 15-year anniversary of North Carolina’s last widespread White Christmas.

With help from NWS Raleigh, we’re looking back to December 2010 and the snowstorm that almost wasn’t. #ncwx

Digesting a Dry November, and More from Last Month - North Carolina State Climate Office On our table in November, our cup didn’t exactly runneth over as dry weather continued, but it was a fittingly fall-like month – aside from an early bite of winter with a mid-month snow event. Dry Tur...

November fit the pattern of our fall, with more dry weather and seasonable temperatures across North Carolina.

We also saw a surprise mid-month snow event that had parts of #ncwx looking and feeling like winter.
climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/12...

Winter Outlook 2025-26: A Seasonal Repeat in Store? - North Carolina State Climate Office It's said that no two snowflakes are alike -- and science backs that up -- but could we see two winters following the same template in back-to-back years? Early signs among the ocean and atmosphere ar...

This winter could have a familiar feeling, with a similar set of storylines and atmospheric signals shaping our weather as last year.

For the 14th year in a row, we present our Winter Outlook for North Carolina. #ncwx
climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/11...

A map of low temperatures across the NC ECONet stations on November 10, 2025

Grandfather Mountain was our coldest station this morning, with a low of 12°F and maximum wind gusts of up to 60 mph! This is the coldest morning there since March 2. 🥶

An infographic describing the current drought status and impacts across North Carolina

Last week's rain event brought widespread improvements on the latest US Drought Monitor, but we're not out of the woods for drought and a potentially active fall wildfire season just yet. #ncwx

Unwrapping Our Weather Tricks and Treats from October - North Carolina State Climate Office Due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the usual temperature and precipitation statistics and rankings from our partners at the National Centers for Environmental Information remain unavailab...

From sweet seasonable days to sour storm-driven flooding and overwash, October brought a varied weather haul across North Carolina. #ncwx

Our latest monthly summary has more on the tricks and treats over the past month.
climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/11...

Drought Digs Back in During a Storm-Sapped September - North Carolina State Climate Office Limited rainfall brought drought back last month, while our temperatures were mostly typical for the first month of fall. Last month had a quiet start but a busy end in the tropics, as we discuss in o...

In September, we saw more fall-like days along with ongoing dryness and the return of drought in parts of North Carolina. #ncwx

Our monthly summary has more on September and an update on this hot-and-cold hurricane season.
climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/10...