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.”

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. (WNCN) — Two people have died in swimming-related incidents at the North Carolina coast since Sunday after this month started with more than 190 rip current rescues.

One death happened Sunday afternoon and was due to rip currents at Ocean Isle Beach in Brunswick County, according to the National Weather Service.

A teenage girl who died at Ocean Isle was caught in a rip current between 12:30 and 1 p.m., the weather service and WECT-TV reported.

The girl was a student at Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, the Morganton News-Herald reported. A school official said she was at the beach as part of a school robotics team trip.

The mayor of Ocean Isle Beach told WECT that three teens were caught in the rip current, but two were rescued. The girl’s name was not released Monday.

As recently as last Tuesday, there were 14 rip current rescues at various beaches in adjacent New Hanover County, the National Weather Service in Wilmington reported.

“I am heartbroken by this tragic news,” Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus told WGHP. “I want the family, and our Reynolds students and staff to know that our district will provide any support they need at this incredibly difficult time. Our prayers are with all of you, and we mourn this loss with you.”

The most recent ocean death on the North Carolina coast happened late Monday morning at Surf City in Pender County, according to the Surf City Fire Department. Just last week there were at least four rip current rescues at that beach, the National Weather Service said.

The Surf City call was just after 11:25 p.m. in the ocean near Beach Access No. 3 on N. Shore Drive.

Ocean Rescue crews found people on the beach trying to help a person in the water. The people were already involved in CPR with the victim and rescue workers continued those efforts, Surf City Fire officials said.

The victim, 57-year-old Minh Ha Nguyen of Richmond, Virginia, was later pronounced dead.

Over the four days of July 3 to July 6, there were nearly 200 people rescued from rip currents at the North Carolina coast.

According to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, in New Hanover County alone, there were over 190 rip current rescues over those days including the Independence Day holiday.

The first North Carolina rip current death happened earlier this month on July 4 at the Outer Banks, according to the National Weather Service. An 18-year-old man died in that incident at Nags Head and is one of 23 people who have died from rip currents in the United States this year, the weather service reported.

WNCT-TV contributed to this report

Skip to content