Daffodils bloomed on Jan. 26 in Durham (Photo: Lisa Sorg)
The winter that barely was: Daffodils bloomed in late January, followed shortly afterward by a stray honeybee. People opened the moonroofs in their cars or took the top down, while cruising along I-40.
On Jan. 26, in the town of Wallace, N.C., the high temperature reached a summery 84 degrees, 25 degrees above average, the State Climate Office reported. Wilmington also set a record that day, with a high of 83, according to NOAA.
This winter’s abnormally high temperatures in North Carolina were influenced by global carbon pollution and climate change, scientists at Climate Central announced today. Based on the Climate Shift Index, climate change made the state’s high temperatures on that day 1.5 times more likely than if it was not occurring.
The Climate Shift Index indicates how climate change has altered the frequency of both the daily high and low temperatures at any location around the world. 1, which means climate change made the conditions 1.5 times more likely.
Climate Central broke down nationwide and state-by-state temperature data showing that in the U.S., 283 million people — about 85% of the population — experienced “at least one winter day with warm temperatures made at least two times more likely due to human-caused climate change.”
- In Greenville, Greensboro and Wilmington, there were seven days in January and February in which climate change influenced the high temps.
- Over the same time period in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Asheville, there were six days’ of balmy weather attributable to a warming planet.
The heat continued into February, even in western North Carolina, where average high temperatures for the month in Hickory, Lincolnton and Asheville ranked among the top 10 since recordkeeping began in the late 1800s.
On Feb. 10, Asheville reached 72 degrees, a full 20 degrees above normal, state climate data show. Raleigh climbed to 76 and set a new daily record high temperature, breaking the previous record from last year. And New Bern hit 77 degrees, – its second-warmest day of winter, far after hitting 81 on Jan. 26.
Except for the highest mountain elevations, North Carolina is in a snow drought. The last measurable snow in most areas was in January 2022, according to the State Climate Office. That’s the second-longest snowless stretch on record for Greensboro, behind the 1,169 days without snow ending in February 1993. The last time a snow drought occurred in Asheville was the 736-day streak between February 2011 and February 2013.
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