Natural Disaster/Climate

Natural Disasters
North Carolina has had its fair share of natural disasters.  Though it is not something that is guranteed, the people of North Carolina knows what it takes to be prepared for the unexpected.  Hurricanes and thunderstorms are North Carolinas primary severe weather and disasters, hurricanes being the most destructive.

The people of North Carolina are somewhat immune to hurricanes.  A number of big hurricanes have come and ripped things to pieces, including Hurricane Flyod, and the most recent big hurricane, Hurricane Charley.  North Carolina is consitently in dangers path when hurricane season rolls along, though not too many hurricanes actually end up damaging much in North Carolina.  Recently, the state has experienced tropical storms and leftovers of hurricanes not far off, but it is always a threat in this state.  The Coastal Plain is obviously the most vulnerable spot to be because of its location right along the coast of the state.  North Carolina is a state where you can hope for the best, because you are not always in the path of danger, though we are prepared for the worst.

Graph of tornado observed from 1950-2003 divided into
counties.

Tornadoes aren't very often seen in the state, though they aren't nonexistent.  Usually, from my experience, most times we hear of a tornado watch rather then a tornado warning.  I myself have never experienced a tornado, but North Carolina has had a few.  In the Coastal Plain, most counties have expereinced a range of 20-40 tornados in the last about fifty years.  The Piedmont has experience a range of about 5-20, and the Mountains have two counties that haven't experienced a tornado since 1950.  Most counties in the Mountains only show about two or three tornados experienced in that amount of time.  North Carolina isn't very common with tornados, but they still stick around.

Graph of how often thunderstorms
occur each year in the United
States.

Thunderstorms are nothing but common in North Carolina.  Because of North Carolina's hot and moist summers, North Carolinians experience quite a bit of thunderstorms each year.  In North Carolina, as much as 50 thunderstorms can occur each year, all being during the months of April-August.  North Carolina being a popular place for this, has to take a few measures for safety with lightning.  Most thunderstorms here occur after noon, and can end as late as 3:00am.  Out of all the disasters on this page, thunderstorms occur the most each year, though they do the least amount of damage.  Thunderstorms occur annually in North Carolina.

Climate Page
North Carolina's location makes it one for some hot summers, and some chilly winters.  In summer, it gets its good share of thunderstorms and hurricanes, though it also receives a lot of rain from July-August.  North Carolina is right on the Atlantic Coast, so this could be an attribute as to why North Carolina receives this type of weather.  The state is shielded by the Appalachin Mountains, so continental air mass doesn't play as much of a role in the winter.  Most of the state usually receives rain in winter, while the mountains get the blow of continental air mass so that it receives more snow then rain in winter.  In summary, North Carolina has a humid and moderate climate.

Average precipitation in inches per year in North Carolina

Sources:
Picutred above - North Carolina State University
This gave me information on how often tornadoes occured in North Carolina.  Most of these writings are things I have learned myself.  Also the thunderstrom information is a graph from NCSU.