GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The No. 2 leader of North Carolina House Democrats announced Tuesday she is stepping down from the General Assembly next month because she’s taking a new job within the University of North Carolina system.

Three-term Rep. Ashton Wheeler Clemmons of Guilford County, a former elementary school teacher and school system administrator, joined the House in 2019 and became a leading voice for the chamber’s minority party on education issues. She later became deputy leader of the House Democratic Caucus. She was also involved in legislation to raise the minimum age for marriage and improve conditions for prisoners who are pregnant or give birth.

Clemmons “came to the General Assembly for the right reason – she wanted to help the people of our state,” House Minority Leader Robert Reives said in a statement. “She has authentically stayed true to that calling and leaves our caucus and state stronger.”

She will become an UNC system associate vice president for strategy and policy on education from preschool through high school.

Clemmons is currently the Democratic nominee in the 57th House District against Republican Janice Davis. Guilford County Democratic activists need to choose a replacement nominee and someone to fill out the remainder of Clemmons’ term through year’s end.

Clemmons didn’t reveal a specific August resignation date. She said Tuesday she would wait until her successor is selected to do so.

House Appropriations Committer senior co-chairman Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican, announced Monday that he would resign from his legislative seat on Aug. 12.

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.”

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.”