PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
1111 AM EST SUN JAN 7 2007
...2006 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS AND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR SOUTHEASTERN
NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA...
TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE WINTER AND SPRING MONTHS WERE SEASONABLY
MILD...BUT A LACK OF RAINFALL LED TO DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS PARTS
OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN CAROLINAS. RIVER LEVELS FELL TO EXTREMELY
LOW STAGES. AT ONE POINT IN MID APRIL LUMBERTON WAS TEN INCHES BELOW
NORMAL FOR RAINFALL AND SEVERAL RIVERS HAD DROPPED TO THE 5TH
PERCENTILE FOR FLOW RATE. THE LAST FREEZING TEMPERATURES OF THE
SPRING OCCURRED NEAR THEIR EXPECTED TIMES: MARCH 23 IN FLORENCE...
MARCH 27 IN WILMINGTON AND MYRTLE BEACH...AND APRIL 10 IN LUMBERTON.
A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK ON APRIL 3RD RESULTED IN MANY
REPORTS OF HIGH WIND AND LARGE HAIL. GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL WAS
REPORTED IN ATKINSON...SURFSIDE BEACH...AND KINGSTREE. ON APRIL
17TH...ANOTHER SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK PRODUCED A TORNADO IN
WHITEVILLE WHICH DESTROYED SEVERAL STRUCTURES ALONG ITS ONE MILE
PATH.
THE SUMMER WAS WARM BUT WITH ONLY ONE HEAT WAVE OF NOTE. FROM AUGUST
1ST THROUGH THE 5TH DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURES REACHED THE MID 90S TO
AROUND 100 DEGREES ACROSS THE AREA. VERY HIGH HUMIDITY MADE
CONDITIONS FEEL EVEN HOTTER. PERHAPS MORE SIGNIFICANTLY...OVERNIGHT
LOWS ONLY DROPPED INTO THE UPPER 70S INLAND WITH LOWER 80S NEAR THE
COAST DURING A PORTION OF THE HEAT WAVE.
ON AUGUST 31ST AND SEPTEMBER 1ST TROPICAL STORM ERNESTO BROUGHT
STRONG WIND GUSTS AND FLOODING RAINFALL TO THE NORTH CAROLINA AND
UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA COASTAL AREAS. WIND GUSTS WERE REPORTED AT HIGH
AS 62 MPH IN WILMINGTON AND 74 MPH AT WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH. UP TO 14
INCHES OF RAIN WAS RECORDED WITH THE STORM WHICH PRODUCED SEVERE
FLOODING ALONG PORTIONS OF THE NORTHEAST CAPE FEAR RIVER. THE GAUGE
NEAR BURGAW REPORTED 16.64 FEET ON SEPTEMBER 5TH...THE SECOND
HIGHEST READING EVER AND ECLIPSED ONLY BY THE HISTORIC FLOODING FROM
HURRICANE FLOYD IN 1999.
FALL WAS SLIGHTLY COOLER THAN NORMAL. A DEADLY TORNADO OCCURRED
EARLY IN THE MORNING ON NOVEMBER 16TH IN TOWN OF RIEGELWOOD IN
COLUMBUS COUNTY. THE STORM KILLED EIGHT AND INJURED 20...DESTROYING
33 HOMES IN COLUMBUS AND PENDER COUNTIES. AFTER A DETAILED STORM
SURVEY THE INTENSITY WAS JUDGED TO BE F3 ON THE FUJITA SCALE WITH
MAXIMUM WINDS NEAR 200 MPH.
THE FIRST 32 DEGREE READING OCCURRED IN LUMBERTON AND FLORENCE ON
OCTOBER 24TH...BUT FREEZING WEATHER NEVER MADE IT TO THE COAST UNTIL
NOVEMBER 14TH IN WILMINGTON...AND DECEMBER 4TH IN MYRTLE BEACH. THE
COLDEST TEMPERATURES OF 2006 OCCURRED ON DECEMBER 9TH WITH A
SHORT-LIVED ARCTIC OUTBREAK. TEMPERATURES REACHED 19 IN WILMINGTON
AND MYRTLE BEACH...17 IN FLORENCE...AND 16 IN LUMBERTON. DESPITE
THIS PERIOD OF VERY CHILLY WEATHER...DECEMBER QUICKLY WARMED WELL
ABOVE NORMAL AND WAS ONE OF THE WARMEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR RELATIVE
TO NORMAL.
2006 AS A WHOLE WAS SLIGHTLY WARMER THAN NORMAL AND GENERALLY WETTER
THAN NORMAL ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND
NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA. NO SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL OR ICE OCCURRED.
---------------------------------------------------------------
WILMINGTON NC 2006 CLIMATE DATA
HIGHEST AVG_HIGH AVERAGE AVG_LOW LOWEST RAINFALL
JANUARY 73 63.2 51.9 40.6 26 1.88
FEBRUARY 75 57.2 46.5 35.7 23 3.35
MARCH 81 65.1 53.4 41.7 28 1.28
APRIL 92 77.5 65.1 52.8 35 3.06
MAY 91 79.7 69.0 58.3 45 2.30
JUNE 92 85.0 76.1 67.3 48 7.83
JULY 95 89.5 80.7 71.8 61 3.67
AUGUST 98 88.4 80.5 72.5 64 18.83
SEPTEMBER 88 81.0 72.0 63.0 50 5.67
OCTOBER 87 74.2 62.9 51.6 34 5.66
NOVEMBER 80 67.4 56.5 45.6 32 6.01
DECEMBER 78 63.9 52.0 40.1 19 4.26
ANNUAL 98 74.3 63.9 53.4 19 63.80
DEPARTURE FROM AVG +0.3 +0.1 -0.1 +6.73
--------------------------------------------------------------
FLORENCE SC 2006 CLIMATE DATA
HIGHEST AVG_HIGH AVERAGE AVG_LOW LOWEST RAINFALL
JANUARY 74 62.4 50.7 39.1 25 2.20
FEBRUARY 74 57.5 46.5 35.6 22 2.84
MARCH 83 66.1 54.0 41.8 27 0.47
APRIL 94 80.2 66.1 51.9 37 1.50
MAY 93 80.9 69.4 57.8 45 7.66
JUNE 94 86.3 76.3 66.3 56 9.28
JULY 99 91.1 80.7 70.4 59 3.24
AUGUST 100 90.2 81.1 72.1 64 6.13
SEPTEMBER 90 82.4 72.8 63.3 49 3.28
OCTOBER 87 73.5 61.9 50.3 32 2.40
NOVEMBER 82 67.1 55.4 43.8 30 5.68
DECEMBER 76 63.7 51.7 39.7 17 3.79
ANNUAL 100 75.1 63.9 52.7 17 48.47
DEPARTURE FROM AVG +1.0 +0.3 -0.4 +3.71
--------------------------------------------------------------
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH SC 2006 CLIMATE DATA
HIGHEST AVG_HIGH AVERAGE AVG_LOW LOWEST RAINFALL
JANUARY 67 59.5 50.3 41.0 26 2.77
FEBRUARY 67 56.1 46.3 36.6 24 2.94
MARCH 78 62.6 52.4 42.2 29 1.65
APRIL 90 74.1 63.6 53.1 38 3.66
MAY 90 77.7 68.5 59.2 45 1.75
JUNE 90 82.9 75.3 67.7 57 8.04
JULY 93 87.3 79.9 72.5 61 3.96
AUGUST 93 87.2 80.3 73.4 67 11.55
SEPTEMBER 86 81.1 72.9 64.7 52 3.95
OCTOBER 84 73.4 63.2 53.0 35 4.45
NOVEMBER 77 66.2 56.0 45.8 32 4.21
DECEMBER 74 63.8 53.0 42.2 19 5.57
ANNUAL 93 72.7 63.5 54.3 19 54.50
DEPARTURE FROM AVG +0.6 +0.7 +0.8 +8.78
--------------------------------------------------------------
LUMBERTON NC 2006 CLIMATE DATA
HIGHEST AVG_HIGH AVERAGE AVG_LOW LOWEST RAINFALL
JANUARY 71 60.9 49.8 38.8 24 1.87
FEBRUARY 72 56.0 44.9 33.7 21 1.06
MARCH 82 64.6 51.9 39.3 26 0.55
APRIL 92 78.4 64.2 49.9 32 1.66
MAY 93 80.6 67.9 55.3 42 4.97
JUNE 94 86.2 76.1 66.1 56 9.62
JULY 98 91.3 80.7 70.1 58 4.39
AUGUST 98 90.5 80.9 71.3 62 4.52
SEPTEMBER 90 82.0 71.7 61.4 47 2.52
OCTOBER 87 73.2 60.8 48.3 30 1.06
NOVEMBER 81 66.8 54.4 41.9 26 7.23
DECEMBER 77 63.0 50.5 38.1 16 2.76
ANNUAL 98 74.5 62.8 51.2 16 42.21
DEPARTURE FROM AVG +1.1 +1.8 +2.8 -5.77
--------------------------------------------------------------
$$
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