{"id":13312,"date":"2020-06-11T09:23:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T13:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=13312"},"modified":"2024-08-15T13:08:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T17:08:16","slug":"inside-the-greenhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/inside-the-greenhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Greenhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re moving rapidly into a different North Carolina than the one we used to know. Will 2020 surpass last year and bring even more record heat?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Those warm days last December when temperatures touched the 70s didn\u2019t just make you pull out the sandals for holiday break. They also helped 2019 secure the title of North Carolina\u2019s warmest year on record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, our colleagues in Asheville at NOAA\u2019s National Centers for Environmental Information confirmed 2019\u2019s record-breaking status. They calculated national, state-level, and local average temperatures and precipitation using quality-controlled weather station observations. These data date back to 1895.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s our best and most accurate measure of surface weather conditions using on-the-ground monitoring sites, which is a fancy way of saying good old-fashioned thermometers and rain gauges. This tried-and-true equipment tells us that 2019 consistently moved the mercury higher than any other year observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To break down this record and what it means \u2014 and where we\u2019re headed in 2020 \u2014 here are the answers to some common questions about climate change in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In short, our temperatures were generally temperate, and our prevailing air masses were typically tropical. Just two months all year \u2014 March and November \u2014 had below-normal statewide average temperatures, while three others \u2014 May, September, and October \u2014 all ranked among the top-five warmest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That early-summer onset and early-fall persistence of heat and humidity were ultimately among the most memorable parts of the year, and they helped make it such a warm one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A stubborn subtropical high-pressure system made our weather so hot and humid during that time, but much earlier similar weather systems also had set up off our coast and given us a warm finish to the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statewide average mean temperature of 61.22\u00b0F last year edged out the 61.08\u00b0F average from 1990, but crucially, it was 2.7 degrees warmer than the 1901 to 2000 average temperature of 58.5\u00b0F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it wasn\u2019t just our mean temperatures. 2019 was also our record warmest year based on average minimum temperatures \u2014 each of those warmest years coming in the past five years \u2014 and 2019 also was our fifth-warmest year based on average maximum temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHOW DID IT HAPPEN?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n