May 24, 2023 - News

North Carolina just had its warmest start to the year on record

Lucille Sherman

Illustration of a hand tipping over a stack of thermometers. — Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

This year is off to a very warm start.

Seven eastern states, including North Carolina, this year experienced the warmest Jan.-April on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports.

Zoom out: The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during the first four months of the year was 40.9° — nearly 2° higher than the average, according to NOAA.

The intrigue: North Carolina also experienced one of the wettest starts to the year we've had, according to NOAA's May report.

Many counties in the state saw significantly more rain than average.

What's next: This summer is expected to be hotter than average, too.

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North Carolina just had its warmest start to the year on record

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