u/Beneficial_Aside_518

Happy May! We’re speeding along through 2026 and ended April as the third warmest in Raleigh in the last 100 years, with an average temperature of 66.2°F, behind only 2025 and 2017.

Year-to-date, we are at an average temperature of 52.3°F, which ranks as the 8th warmest January-April period since 1926.

Going forward we are expecting a potentially strong to very strong El Niño to develop this year. El Niño is the positive phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It occurs every 2-7 years when wind patterns drive warm water eastward across the equatorial pacific, leading to a warm anomaly off the coast of Peru extending westward. This can lead to profound weather effects throughout the world. Typically our region experiences the most notable impacts from El Niño during the winter months, where an amplified southern jet stream brings increased precipitation and often slightly cooler than average temperatures. El Niño can also suppress Atlantic hurricane activity by increasing wind shear.

Hopefully El Niño can help relieve our drought a bit sooner rather than later.