Good morning! I am a fourth grade teacher at Spring Creek Elementary School in Goldsboro. This week my class read a story and a weather related question was asked. We were wondering if you could help us with the answer. We would like to know how much rain does Goldsboro average each year and how much rain does North Carolina average each year? My class watches the news each night and have become very interested in weather related topics.

MIKE MOSS SAYS:     A quick check of the 1971-2000 "normal" yearly rainfall for Goldsboro from the Southeast Regional Climate Center site shows yearly precipitation there at 49.84 inches. The yearly rainfall for North Carolina is a bit trickier question, since the normal amounts vary widely from one part of the state to another, especially in the west. You might find it an interesting exercise to look over maps of average precipitation across the state, both on a monthly and annual basis, that are available from the NC State Climate Office at this address:

http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climate/monthlyprecip.html