Kathie Dello

The Woman Who Spoke to a Broken Asheville During Hurricane Helene, Lillian Govus was thrown into a role that she never thought she’d have. A year later, she talks about the trauma she saw, and the trauma she endured.

For the Rabbit Hole this week, @jessicawakeman.bsky.social talked to the woman who delivered information to the public during Hurricane Helene about what she saw and heard behind the scenes. www.ncrabbithole.com/p/the-woman-...

Remembering Fran: The last major hurricane to strike North Carolina's coast Hurricane Fran came inland on Sept. 5, 1996.

It has now been 29 years since a major hurricane (category 3 or stronger) has made landfall in North Carolina. Here's a look back at Hurricane Fran: specne.ws/2YMKQV #ncwx

Thank you! And huge congrats on your AMS award!!

Some personnel news. I’m leaving the best job I’ve ever had to serve the state of North Carolina in a new capacity!

I’m so grateful to the @ncsco.bsky.social team for welcoming me with open arms six years ago and sending me off with such a warm and thoughtful farewell.

I am thankful to emergency officials and first responders for their tireless work to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Erin and to make sure folks can return safely to the Outer Banks as quickly as possible.

A satellite image of Hurricane Erin off the coast of North Carolina on Thursday, August 21 at 8 am

As Hurricane Erin heads away today, we're taking an early look at the storm's impacts in eastern North Carolina, from winds to waves to overwash. #ncwx

Plus: What does Erin have in common with legendary Hurricane Isabel?

Our Climate Blog has more ⬇️

📰: climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/08...

Hurricane Erin Prompts Storm Warnings in Coastal North Carolina

Wrightsville Beach, on the North Carolina coast, is recommending that no one swim in the ocean until at least Friday, after about 70 people had to be rescued on Monday from dangerous rip currents generated by swells from Hurricane Erin

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...

Unbelievable footage from NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters inside the eye of Hurricane Erin.

Simply incredible.

Photo from the perspective of the NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft in the eye of Hurricane Erin. A blue ocean can be seen along with the clouds marking the edge of the hurricane's eyewall.

📸August 16: Images from the NOAA Hurricane Hunter and our NOAA Satellites Ocean Winds team show an intense eyewall in Hurricane #Erin This photo shows the ocean surface calm in the eye and roaring in the eyewall. For the latest forecast visit hurricanes.gov

This isn't a trivial analysis, so it's a work in progress, but for "least lucky" locations along the U.S. East Coast for tropical cyclones (TCs) over the past ~50 years, one might expect it to be Florida.

Turns out it's the coasts of North Carolina and South Carolina.

I’ll take it!

Book a Stay, Earn Bucks to Play Haywood County invites you to have some fun on us this summer! Book a qualifying stay, to receive up to $200 in Elk Bucks to spend at over 100 local venues.

How eager is western NC to get tourists back this summer? Haywood County is offering gift certificates for visitors who stay for multiple nights, mid-week: visithaywood.com/open-haywood/

The story of North Carolina's most hardcore hurricane picture (and its connection to Apollo 11) This image from Hurricane Hazel was taken by a legendary photographer and never seems to go away. So who's the guy in the foreground? Only the guy who made it possible to watch the first moon landing!

I looked into the most hardcore hurricane picture in North Carolina history. See that guy walking in the floodwater in front of that burning house? Turns out he'd go on to be the man who made it possible to watch the first moon landing live on television! www.ncrabbithole.com/p/north-caro...

An infographic showing temperature rankings and extremes in North Carolina for July 2025

An infographic showing precipitation rankings and extremes in North Carolina for July 2025

From Chantal's soaking to the late-month heat wave, July was stormy and steamy in North Carolina, with record warmth overnight and record high dew points.

Our latest monthly summary has more on the warm, wet July weather. #ncwx

📰: climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/08...

Wilmington's temperature has dipped below 70 degrees F for the first time in 58 days. This is tied for the second longest streak of 70+ low temps since records began here in 1874. All four of the longest streaks of 70+ degree temperatures have occurred since 2012. #ncwx #climate

So many of you shared with me tools and items that you turned to when fires, floods, heat, and other hazards hit your homes.

Here are some of your stories, which I gathered for @nytwirecutter.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

A New Approach to Measuring Extreme Heat :: North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies By Mark Essig A black globe thermometer (center) and a humidity and temperature probe (left) at the NC State Climate Office’s ECONet station at Jockeys Ridge State Park. Photo courtesy of the North…

Wet-bulb globe temperature offers the best metric for heat stress but requires specialized instruments. NCICS’s Kyle Wodzicki and colleagues offer a fresh approach—and find alarming evidence of extreme heat trends in the Southeast US. @ncsco.bsky.social @kathiedello.bsky.social bit.ly/ncicswbgt2025

A photo of Lejeune High School football players practicing on a sunny day. (Photo by Sgt. Bryan Peterson/Marine Corps Installations East)

The heat is on this week, and that means more stress during outdoor activities. Together with @ncstate-ncics.bsky.social, we're looking at what historical trends and recent extremes in Wet Bulb Globe Temperatures tell us about heat risk in North Carolina. #ncwx

📰: climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/07...

North Carolina, we’re looking at another weekend of extreme heat and likely heat advisories across the state. If you can, make plans to keep cool indoors. If you need to be outside, make sure to stay hydrated.

Eno River State Park closed due to Chantal flooding. When will it reopen? Many trails are blocked by debris, and a notable park bridge sustained significant damage.

To keep the public and NC State Parks employees safe, Eno River State Park is temporarily closed. I am grateful to all the park employees and DNCR staff who are working hard to make the park ready for your visit soon. www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...

This week marks the 109th anniversary of "The Great Flood"...
Two tropical systems dropped massive amounts of rain over Western North Carolina causing one of the worst natural disasters in the state's history. #SpectrumNews1 #ncwx #WNC

Check out our new paper in Earth’s Future!

We mapped 78 flood events in eastern NC from 1996-2020 and found flooding (& repeat flooding) is more common than we previously thought.

Paper: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
Data (NC-FLDEX): dataverse.unc.edu/dataset.xhtm...

A map of precipitation totals from Tropical Storm Chantal in North Carolina

With more than 10 inches of rain in spots, Tropical Storm Chantal produced flooding and damage across central NC over the past 24 hours. #ncwx

Our latest blog post reviews the rainfall totals, river crests, and other initial impacts from Chantal.
📰: climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/07...

North Carolina is thinking a lot about Texas right now after the horrific flash flooding.

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country is a trusted and vetted source for donations, should you feel so inclined.

cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/c...

Donate to US Flood Relief Fundraisers Help those affected by flooding across the US. Donate to verified fundraisers to offer flood relief to individuals & their families.

GoFundMe has set up a page for the Texan flood victims. Each campaign has been verified by the company's Trust & Safety experts, which means you know your money is going directly to families. Please consider donating if you can. Their stories are heartbreaking.

www.gofundme.com/c/act/flood-...

Disturbance off the southeast coast looks better organized this AM. A Hurricane Hunter is scheduled to investigate the system today. Whether it gets a name or not, the forecast will remain the same. Shower chances will increase, especially east of I-95 from late Saturday into Sunday. #SpectrumNews1

Back on Track Hurricane Helene wiped out several major rail lines in Western N.C. Now most trains are back up and running. We looked at the rebuilding.

This spring, photographer Jesse Barber toured sections of Norfolk Southern railroad in Western North Carolina and east Tennessee, capturing the damage and recovery efforts.

A photo of a dozer cutting a containment line on the Deep Woods fire in March. (Photo by Natalie Garrett/NC Forest Service)

Nine months ago, Hurricane Helene roared into western NC, and since the flooding receded, another impact has lit up the mountain landscape. #ncwx

With insights from @usfs.bsky.social, NC Forest Service, and NWS GSP, we look at the fire danger following Helene:
climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/06...

North Carolina’s Isothermal Community College in Rutherford County is beautiful and has a weather moniker — no better place to host one of our @ncsco.bsky.social ECONet stations!

Was grateful to sneak over to this one before it started to record those hot temps!

An animation of US Drought Monitor maps for North Carolina from mid-October 2024 through mid-June 2025

Nearly eight months after it first emerged, drought is gone in North Carolina. #ncwx

Today on the Climate Blog, we look back on this drought and its impacts, including an active spring fire season across the state. #ncwx

📰: climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2025/06...