NORFOLK, Va. — June was dry across Virginia. Not just "kind of" dry: it was record dry!
North Carolina lacked rainfall across the state as well. 2024 was the second driest June on record for the Tarheel state.
When you look nationally, much of the southeastern US, up through the Ohio River Valley was quite dry. It was also very dry for Wyoming and California. Montana, Nevada, and Oregon were all drier than normal.
The Great Lakes region and parts of the southwest US had above-average rainfall.
Back to Virginia... it may be hard for many in Hampton Roads to believe the Commonwealth set the record this year. That's because Virginia Beach, Norfolk, parts of Suffolk, and Southampton all finished above normal for June rainfall.
According to data collected by NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information, many parts of Virginia Beach, and Currituck, Camden, and Pasquotank in North Carolina saw rainfall that was 100-150% of normal for June.
While it was wet here, central and western parts of Virginia and North Carolina were extremely dry. From Washington DC down through the Piedmont, some areas only got 5 to 25% of normal precipitation.
With the dry weather last month, drought conditions are rapidly developing across the region. While Hampton Roads isn't in terrible shape, clearly other parts of Virginia and North Carolina will welcome rainfall.
As we finish the second week of July with Flood Watches for Hampton Roads and Northeast North Carolina, areas most in need of rain farther west, will likely come up short.
It appears to be a case where the "rain rich" get richer, and the "rain poor" get poorer.