Plentiful rainfall in Cape Fear region eases summer strain
Fayetteville Observer excerpt
"But generally, when you look around your area, the rainfall has been spread out and plentiful."
Summer did not begin that way. A series of scorching days in late June nudged much of eastern North Carolina back into drought status.
Since then, rainfall totals have ranged from nearly 8 inches at Fayetteville Regional Airport to more than a foot in the Rockfish area. More than half of the county's volunteers with CoCoRaHS, a national weather recording group, have logged more than 9 inches of rain since summer started.
In contrast, this time last year, Fayetteville had picked up only 3.5 inches of rain amid strings of blistering 100-degree days. The previous year was not much better, with 3.81 inches, and 2009 was even worse, at 3.51 inches. The region's average summer rainfall through the end of July is 6.85 inches.