Hurricane Joaquin and the Almost-Rain-Record

Jes Stiehm
Staff Writer

      North Carolina is known for its rather infamous weather fluctuations, and that point was only proven by the arrival of Hurricane Joaquin. The United States was not negatively affected nearly as much as other locations in the Atlantic Ocean, but unusual damage was inflicted along the east coast. In North Carolina, hurricanes are of the most common storms that bring about precipitation anomalies. In fact, North Carolina’s total rainfall record of twenty four inches was caused by Hurricane Floyd in 1999. However this isn’t the most impressive record the Tar Heel state has accomplished.
      North Carolina has suffered tedious amounts of rainfall in the past two weeks because of the Category 4 hurricane. Enough rain to break a state record? Perhaps. The longest consecutive span of state rainfall on record was documented in the late 1880s. This year, NC matched the past record of twelve days exactly, dashing any hopes that it would rain a thirteenth day and finally break the century-old record.
      However, not all good things come with twelve straight days of rain. Roads had to be shut down around the Triangle because of fallen debris and unsafe tread, local crops took a massive hit, making damage control a menace, and two people died during the twelve day period. NC’s southern neighbor, South Carolina, endured even more damage, resulting in widespread floods and a current death toll of sixteen. Not much good has come out of this tropical storm, so it is certainly a positive that Hurricane Joaquin dissipated on Oct. 7, 2015.