North Carolina

Severe drought covers a quarter of NC counties amid record-breaking heat

Published

2 years ago

July 16, 2024

Severe drought covers a quarter of NC counties amid record-breaking heat

June marks the 13th consecutive month of global record-breaking high temperatures. North Carolina has not been spared from the heat.

“We are trending toward one of our warmest years on record in North Carolina,” said Kathie Dello, N.C.’s state climatologist. “While we haven’t had 13 months of consistent records in North Carolina, we are feeling the heat — both in the daytime and the nighttime temperatures.”

Elevated temperatures have dried out many parts of the state. About a quarter of counties now have severe drought advisories. Out east, Columbus County is in extreme drought, according to the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council.

The council is a collaboration between many state and federal agencies, as well as private utilities such as Duke Energy. The group meets weekly to determine what parts of the state are experiencing a drought and determine how drought conditions are manifesting. For example, the N.C. Forest Service updates the council on how the drought worsens wildfire conditions in the state.

“[This drought has] been very quick and very extreme,” said Klaus Albertin, who chairs the council.

He described current dry conditions as “unusual.” Leading up to the drought, April was a dry month punctuated by heavy rainfall in May.

“Based on all the different indicators, the state was considered to be normal,” Albertin said. “But then June came around, and most places got maybe an inch, maybe an inch-and-a-half of rain over the entire month.”

Courtesy

Drought Management Advisory Council

A snapshot of the state’s current drought map. About a quarter of N.C. counties are currently experiencing severe drought conditions.

Lower elevations in the state should expect 4-5 inches of rain this time of year; the mountains should expect nearly double that amount. The onset of the drought happened rapidly after the May rains.

“Another week went by, sometimes we just didn’t get any rainfall. Sometimes stations got maybe a quarter of an inch when typically they would get an inch each week. It’s been very quick and very extreme,” Albertin said.

The council reviews historical data — going back at least 30 years — at National Weather Stations across the state to determine what is normal rainfall for a county or region.

“If the station has data back to 1895, which some do, we look at what those normals are,” Albertin said.

Fossil fuel combustion elevates global temperatures, quickening drying after rainfall. While annual average precipitation in the state has remained relatively stable, weather events are trending toward the extreme, in what Albertin described as a weather “roller coaster” effect.

“We get these real extreme dry periods followed by some real extreme rainfall,” Albertin said.

Some municipalities have already enacted voluntary water restrictions. Dello said the agricultural sector has been hit hard; North Carolina farmers lost many corn crops this year.

“No matter what rain we get, we can’t turn those losses around,” Dello said.

There is hope for rain on the horizon, but even that comes with its caveats. The National Weather Service has predicted an above-average hurricane season in the Atlantic this year.

“We do need some of that tropical moisture to make its way here — and hopefully not in a very destructive way,” Dello said. “Our soils are really dry. I know even the average homeowner is saying, ‘I don’t have to mow my lawn, but my garden is doing terrible.”

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North Carolina

Gov. Stein proposes $1.4B ‘critical needs’ budget for North Carolina

Published

3 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Gov. Stein proposes .4B ‘critical needs’ budget for North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (WLOS) — With North Carolina still without a new state budget, Gov. Josh Stein is urging state lawmakers to approve a $1.4 billion “Critical Needs Budget.” Stein says this budget will address the state’s most urgent priorities while the General Assembly works on a full spending plan.

“North Carolina has gone nearly two and a half years without passing a new state budget – the only state in the country to finish 2025 without one[…]This budget invests in critical public safety, education and health care services for the people of North Carolina that cannot wait,” Gov. Stein said in a press release Monday.

A major part of Stein’s proposal is $319 million to fully fund Medicaid, which provides health coverage to over three million North Carolinians. This program also supports rural hospitals, nursing homes and statewide health care providers, per the release.

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The “Critical Needs Budget” would target public safety staffing and pay. According to the governor’s office, North Carolina currently ranks 49th in starting salaries for state troopers and correctional officers, and low pay has contributed to staffing shortages and vacancy rates. This budget would bring pay raises to correctional officers, law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers and more.

Stein’s proposed budget calls for raising starting and average teacher pay, as well as increasing pay for senior teachers and other education staff. The governor’s office said the state remains in the bottom 10 nationally in average teacher pay.

The budget proposal also includes pay increases for state employees and a cost-of-living adjustment for retired state employees, citing rising inflation costs and increasing health care premiums. Stein’s plan also includes targeted funding to maintain essential services, such as support for child care access and affordability.

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North Carolina

The North Carolina Arboretum’s “Spring Into the Arb” returns for year two

Published

15 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

The North Carolina Arboretum’s “Spring Into the Arb” returns for year two

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The North Carolina Arboretum has announced a new season of “Spring Into the Arb!”

The “Spring Into the Arb!” is in its second year, with its series of plant shows and sales, science and nature activities, music, and art, allowing people to reemerge and reconnect with nature.

The season begins with Nature Play Day on Saturday, March 14, continuing through April, May, and June with new activities every weekend.

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According to a news release, throughout the season, guests can enjoy the following:

Asheville Orchid Festival, annual Ikebana and Rose shows
Purchase plants at the Spring Plant Sale and Market
Get back to their native roots with Native Azalea Day, Mountain Science Expo, and Nature Play Day

The series culminates with Bonsai in the Blue Ridge in June, according to the release.

The release says guests and members are invited to drop in on the newly-opened Arbor Eatery in the Arboretum’s Education Center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Hours extend to 5 p.m. beginning April 1.

Spring Into the Arb events and programs are included with the regular Arboretum parking fee of $25 per vehicle. Arboretum Society Members get in free.

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According to the release, additional admission is required for the Asheville Orchid Festival and Bonsai in the Blue Ridge.

A full list of the Spring Into the Arb 2026 events includes:

Nature Play Day: March 14
Asheville Orchid Festival: March 28 to 29
Music in the Mountains Day: April 4
Arbor Day Celebration: April 11
Native Azalea Day: April 18
Mountain Science Expo: April 25
World Bonsai Day: May 9
Change of Seasons: Spring into Ikebana: May 16 to 17
The Asheville-Blue Ridge Rose Society Exhibition: May 22 to 24
The Arb in Focus: 40 Views for 40 Years: Opening May 23
Spring Plant Sale and Market: May 29 to 30
Bonsai in the Blue Ridge: June 4 to 7

For more information, visit here.

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North Carolina

Michael Jordan North Carolina “Sports Illustrated” cover sells for record $229k

Published

1 day ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Michael Jordan North Carolina “Sports Illustrated” cover sells for record 9k

A copy of Michael Jordan’s 1983 “Sports Illustrated” cover debut sold for $229,360 on Saturday night at Goldin, obliterating the previous record for a graded magazine.

Before Saturday, the previous record was the $126,000 paid for Jordan’s 1984 SI debut in a Bulls uniform entitled “A Star Is Born.”

“Sports Illustrated” magazines are very common and people kept them, but collectors narrowed the category by making rarer newsstand copies most collectible, and graded condition of those copies to narrow the most desirable down further.

Then, in July, came PSA to challenge CGC in the grading space.

The record UNC Jordan, with teammate Sam Perkins on the cover, was the only PSA 9.6. The question is, with PSA’s grading just beginning, are there others our there?

It’s possible, but that Jordan issue presents a challenge because it has a gatefold that makes it more challenging to press out defects.

The big price will likely create a group of opportunists who will now take raw subscription copies of this issue and get them graded for potential arbitrage.

But it won’t be that easy. A CGC 8.0 newsstand edition sold for $4,636 in October.

Whether the big price also creates more grading and selling of rare magazines remains to be seen, but PSA’s entrance into the space has definitely turned heads.

PSA has graded more than 50 of this particular issue, the second most commonly graded after the “Star is Born” issue.

Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country’s leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.

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