In southeastern North Carolina, that meant dry spells and floods. Columbus County, for example, saw drought conditions in May and June, which wreaked havoc on local agriculture.
"I've seen estimates that 60% of the corn production was lost last year because of that summer drought," said assistant state climatologist Corey Davis. "A lot of the corn in places like this just never made a recovery after that early summer drought."
Last year was the second warmest on record for North Carolina, and the fifth warmest year on record for Wilmington. The climate office said the high temperatures are one of several factors contributing to weather whiplash. What followed the drought in Columbus County was another weather extreme — flooding, brought on by Tropical Storm Debby in August.
The most severe weather event of 2024, however, wasn't even a named storm. Potential Tropical Cyclone Number 8, which struck in mid-September, washed out roads and businesses across southeastern NC, including Carolina Beach, Southport, and Bald Head Island.
"It was just an offshore low-pressure system that in some ways was similar to Debby," Davis said. "It just sat there and spun and spun and spun for several days."
Davis said the storm was "never quite organized enough" to become a named tropical storm. He also said the severity of the storm wasn't unusual, but the timing of it was.
"Usually, we would expect to see that in May or June, very early in the hurricane season, even before the official start of hurricane season," he said.
But ultimately, severe weather events like PTC #8 and this summer's drought are getting tougher to predict.
"You know, we may be able to say whether it might be warmer or cooler overall, or wetter or drier for a hurricane season," he said. "But in terms of how those events stack up, back to back against each other, there's not a lot of great predictability."
The climate office also said that Wilmington had been in a snow drought for over three years — or, more precisely, 1,073 days. But after Wednesday's snowfall, that dry spell has apparently been broken.
