From the National Weather Service Office in Raleigh
...A WARM SUMMER ACROSS CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...
THE MONTHS OF JUNE...JULY...AND AUGUST COMPRISE THE TRADITIONAL MONTHS OF SUMMER. THE SUMMER OF 2005 WAS THE WARMEST AT THE RALEIGH DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (RDU)...DATING BACK TO 1948. THE MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THE SUMMER OF 2005 WAS 79.7 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT... SURPASSING THE PREVIOUS WARMEST SUMMER ESTABLISHED IN 1952 BY NEARLY A HALF DEGREE.
THE WARMEST SUMMER OF RECORD OF 2005 WAS NOT DUE TO DAILY RECORD BREAKING HIGH TEMPERATURES. INDEED...THERE WERE ONLY TWO DAILY RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES ESTABLISHED DURING THE SUMMER OF 2005 (101 DEGREES ON JULY 26 AND 102 DEGREES ON JULY 27). RATHER...THIS SEASON'S WARMEST SUMMER OF RECORD WAS DUE TO WARM AND MUGGY SUMMER NIGHTS COMBINED WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF 90 DEGREE PLUS DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURES. MOREOVER...THERE WERE EIGHT NIGHTS WHERE THE DAILY HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES AT THE RDU AIRPORT WERE BROKEN OR TIED... WHILE DAYTIME HIGHS REACHED OR EXCEEDED 90 DEGREES DURING 57 OF THE 92 DAYS COMPRISING SUMMER. ONLY THE SUMMER OF 2002 HAD MORE 90 DEGREE PLUS DAYS (58 DAYS).
MEANWHILE THE TRIAD AREA OF WINSTON-SALEM...GREENSBORO...AND HIGH POINT ALSO EXPERIENCED A VERY WARM SUMMER IN 2005. THE MEAN TEMPERATURE OVER THE MONTHS OF JUNE...JULY...AND AUGUST AT THE PIEDMONT-TRIAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT RANKED AS THE FOURTH WARMEST SUMMER DATING BACK TO 1928. THE MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THE SUMMER OF 2005 WAS 77.83 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. THIS WAS ONLY A LITTLE LESS WARM THAN THE WARMEST SUMMER OF RECORD WHERE THE MEAN TEMPERATURE WAS 78.50 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT DURING THE SUMMER OF 1950. THE PIEDMONT TRIAD AIRPORT REACHED 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER ON 29 DAYS DURING THE 92 DAYS COMPRISING SUMMER. ONLY ONE DAILY RECORD HIGH WAS SET...98 DEGREES ON JULY 26.
