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

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.