Heat, drought expected to persist

Locals continue to share the misery of heat that’s gripping the United States, and federal data predicts that temperatures will remain high at least through September.

The first five months of 2024 were the warmest locally since 2017 and the sixth warmest since 1895, data from the National Centers for Environmental Information, part of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shows. From January-May Pitt County recorded temperatures three and a half degrees warmer than the average of 53 degrees.

2017 marked Pitt County’s warmest recorded stretch for that period of time with temperatures set 4.4 degrees above average.

May was the 14th warmest in Pitt County’s record with an average temperature of 71.5 degrees, about 3 degrees higher than average.

Early climatological data for June from the National Weather Service twice registered maximum temperatures of 98 at the end of the month and an average maximum temperature of almost 91 degrees. The average overall temperature for June, including overnight levels, was 79.7 degrees, about 2 1/2 degrees above average.

July was off to a hot start as well with six days so far reaching highs in the 90s and highs of 99 on July 5-6.

Corey Davis, assistant state climatologist for the North Carolina State Climate Office, said that June was the sixth hottest on record in Greenville and the warmest since 2015.

As of Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Newport forecasted heat indexes was to dip back into the 90s today before another swell to 100 degrees on Sunday afternoon and into next week.

Persistent heat nationwide has killed, The Associated Press reported. In Arizona’s Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year, along with more than 160 other suspected heat deaths still under investigation.

The AP also reported that triple-digit temperatures between 15 and 30 degrees higher than average are expected to persist into this week in parts of the country. On July 6-7, a high of 128 degrees was recorded at Death Valley National Park in California, where a motorcyclist died July 6 from heat exposure and a fellow rider was hospitalized.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center shows a 50-60 percent probability that temperatures in Pitt County and eastern North Carolina will remain above average through July, August and September.

Drought outlook

The persistent drought has taken a toll on farming operations. Experts say the region’s corn crop has been decimated and tobacco is struggling.

David Tucker continued his vigil against the drought Tuesday morning in a 40-acre tobacco field north of Greenville.

He and coworkers had set irrigators to pump from a nearby pond and spray water on the crop. The equipment blasts water across the field like large lawn sprinklers attached to fire hoses.

“We try to put on about an inch a week,” said Tucker, who grows more than 200 acres of tobacco in multiple locations with his father, Charles.

He and his father have been rotating the equipment among fields for two months. He said sleep has been scarce as they try to stay with the equipment, especially when they water at night, which is preferred because of less evaporation.

He said he has not experienced conditions this dry. His father told him it has been many years since he’s had to irrigate at the level he’s had to this year.

Data shows the forecasted Atlantic Hurricane season brings a middling chance of above average rainfall for Pitt County from July-September, but forecasts also predict drought conditions could persist until the end of September.

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows conditions in Pitt County worsened from the week of June 25 to July 2, with 87.22 percent of Pitt County in severe drought compared to moderate the week prior. The National Weather Service in Morehead City said the monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions and that local conditions may vary.

The monitor clocked a similar trend in neighboring Greene County with 99.14 percent of the county in severe drought compared to moderate the week prior. In all January-May in Greene County say 15.63 inches of precipitation, the 28th driest on record according to metrics from the National Center for Environmental Information.

Data provided by the State Climate Office showed the first six months of 2024 were the fifth driest in 106 years of Pitt County record. June brought .45 total inches of rain. Only three days — June 3, 6 and 7 — saw measurable rainfall and there was a 23-day stretch without rain from June 7- July 1.

That streak was snapped July 1 when the National Weather Service recorded .29 inches of precipitation in Greenville. The service also recorded .02 inches on July 6. Data for July 8 was not ready at press time.

On Monday U.S. House Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat who represents North Carolina’s 1st District, announced he had sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack urging for an emergency declaration in the district. Such a declaration would unlock state and federal funds designated for drought relief that could be used to financially support affected communities, farmers and businesses.

The letter came a week after the congressman called for the same emergency declaration during a joint press conference in Rocky Mount.

The National Drought Summary points to high rates of evaporation of moisture from land and vegetation which will require more above-average rainfall to offset the dry climes.

The National Weather Service in Morehead City added that because of how dry soils are, Pitt County’s overall flood risk is low but that torrential rainfall over a short period of time can still cause flash flooding.

The NWS forecasted about .27 inches of rainfall for Thursday and Friday.