1. ES – NC Landforms, Weather, and Climate

2. NC Landforms

3. Major Geographic Regions
Coastal Plain
Two main subregions:
Outer Coastal Plain
Inner Coastal Plain (includes Sandhills)
Piedmont
Mountains

4. Geographic View

5. Coastal Plains Features of the Coastal Plain Barrier Islands
Coastal Plain Terraces
Pocosins
Carolina Bays

6. Barrier Islands

7. Coastal Dune

8. Outer Banks (Barrier Islands)

9. Cape Hatteras

10. Ocracoke Island

11. Coastal Plain Terraces

12. Oceanic Invasion of the South

13. Floodplain

14. The Formation of a Pocosin

15. A Typical Pocosin Profile

16. NC Pocosins

17. Pocosin

18. Pocosin Lake

19. Carolina Bays

20. Piedmont
Drained by a number of rivers, including the Dan, Tar, Neuse, Cape Fear, Yadkin, and Catawba

21. Piedmont

22. Mountains
Main chains of mountain ranges running from northeast to southwest
Other chains run between the main chains, creating coves, basins, and valleys.

23. Appalachian Mountains

24. Stream in the Blue Ridge Mountains

25. Great Smoky Mountains

26. Pilot Mountain

27. Thunder Hill in the Blue Ridge Mountains

28. Grandfather Mountain

29. Linville Falls

30. Linville Gorge

31. Linville Caverns

32. Mountain Lake

33. Waterfall

34. NC Rivers and Lakes

35. Lake Lure

36. Climatic Considerations
Geographic Considerations
Air Masses
Elevation
Bodies of Water
Climatic Concerns
Temperature
Precipitation
Sunshine
Frost

37. Air Masses Affecting North Carolina

38. Types of Precipitation
Orographic Precipitation
Convectional Precipitation
Cyclonic Precipitation

39. Orographic Precipitation
Occurs in the mountains and western piedmont
Tropical air mass reaches the mountains and cools adiabatically as it rises along the mountains.
When it reaches the dew point (100% humidity), it results in rain or snow.

40. Adiabatic
Adiabatic: describing a process in which there is no transfer of heat into or out of the system in question.
Saturation-adiabatic process: an adiabatic process in which the air is maintained at saturation by the evaporation or condensation of water substance, the latent heat being supplied by or to the air respectively; the ascent of cloudy air, for example, is often assumed to be such a process.

41. Convectional Precipitation
Primarily a warm weather phenomena—isolated summer thunderstorms.
Most summer rain comes from convectional precipitation.
The heat of day on the air and land heats an already warm maritime tropical air mass.
As the heated and moist air rises, it cools and its water vapor turns into rain.

42. Cyclonic Precipitation
Conventional low pressure storms.
Generally move west to east across the United States.
Generally fall, winter and spring in North Carolina.
Warm fronts tend to provide light, prolonged precipitation.
Cold fronts tend to provide brief, heavy showers.

43. Exceptional Weather
Tornados
Hurricanes

44. Tornado Locations

45. Climatic Measures Average Temperatures Frost-Free Seasons
Average Annual Rainfall
While North Carolina is located in a warm temperate zone, its diverse regions can experience a great variety of weather conditions. While locations in the mountains may see average temperatures of 30 degrees Fahrenheit in January and 65 degrees Fahrenheit in August, locations in the coastal plains can often experience January averages in the mid 40's and August averages in the 90's. The state averages 44 inches of rainfall each year, and 5 inches of snow.

46. Hickory Climate Summary
NC Climate Summary
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Average Max. Temperature (F)
50.8
53.1
60.5
70.5
78.4
85.0
87.1
86.0
81.3
72.4
61.0
51.6
69.8
Average Min. Temperature (F)
29.7
30.5
36.7
45.5
54.5
62.5
65.9
65.0
59.1
47.5
36.9
30.1
47.0
Average Total Precipitation (in.)
3.97
4.14
4.70
3.77
3.91
4.41
4.76
5.35
3.75
3.61
3.00
4.18
49.54
Average Total SnowFall (in.)
3.0
1.9
1.7
0.0
0.1
8.5
Average Snow Depth (in.)
Hickory Climate Summary
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Average Max. Temperature (F)
51.1
55.5
61.9
70.0
76.1
81.5
84.6
84.5
79.8
72.7
60.4
52.9
69.4
Average Min. Temperature (F)
29.4
30.2
36.5
43.1
52.8
61.1
65.3
65.5
59.2
48.4
36.1
31.6
46.7
Average Total Precipitation (in.)
4.60
4.21
5.69
3.60
6.46
5.53
3.88
3.73
4.14
3.46
3.76
4.78
53.84

47. Annual Rainfall in NC

48. Annual Seasonal Snowfall in NC

50. Normal Mean Temperature for January in NC

52. Average Seasonal Hours of Sunlight in NC
The number of hours during which the sun is visible (black line), with various degrees of daylight, twilight, and night, indicated by the color bands. From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray): full daylight, solar twilight (sun is visible but less than 6° from the horizon), civil twilight (sun is not visible but is less than 6° below the horizon), nautical twilight (sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon), astronomical twilight (sun is between 12° and 18° below the horizon), and full night.

53. Daily Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Savings Time
The sunrise and sunset times over the course of the year 2012 (black lines), with twilights (solar, civil, nautical, and astronomical) indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray. The transitions to and from daylight savings time are indicated by the "DST" labels.

54. Median Cloud Cover in NC
The median daily cloud cover (black line) with percentile bands (inner band from 40th to 60th percentile, outer band from 25th to 75th percentile).

55. Average Relative Humidity in NC
The average daily high (blue) and low (brown) relative humidity with percentile bands (inner bands from 25th to 75th percentile, outer bands from 10th to 90th percentile).

56. Average Dew Point in NC
The daily average low (blue) and high (red) dew point with percentile bands (inner band from 25th to 75th percentile, outer band from 10th to 90th percentile).

57. Average Wind Speed in NC
The average daily minimum (red), maximum (green), and average (black) wind speed with percentile bands (inner band from 25th to 75th percentile, outer band from 10th to 90th percentile).

58. Human Effects on Geography
In the 1800s (and earlier) eastern North Carolina's economy affected the landscape:
Naval Stores—use of region’s longleaf pine for timber and tar:
Some barrier island forests harvested to the point of deforestation.
Parts of the coastal plains destroyed by insect infestations, burnings, windstorms, etc., once trees were cut with V’s to drain sap for tar.
Draining of swamps:
Drained for farming and rice growing.
Draining lowered water levels in rivers and allowed for major forest fires.

59. Affects of Climate on History
In 1998, scientists discovered by measuring tree rings in bald cypresses that in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, two major droughts occurred:
—the worst drought in the last 800 years.
—the driest seven-year period in the last 800 years.