CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -
Technically, Charlotte is below in rainfall for the year to the tune of 4 inches.
How can that be ? Didn't we have flooding downpours this month ? Didn't part of the roof at SouthPark mall collapse under the weight of a 4 inch drenching in late July ? Isn't it more green here than brown, typically the predominant color of our vegetation in late August ? And, unlike much of the nation, no part of North Carolina is really enduring any serious drought. See the image.
All of the above are true.
So then, how can Charlotte be 4 inches in the hole?
Here's the rub: as is the case with most U.S. cities, weather measurements are recorded at just one location, regardless of the size of the city, and in our case, that's at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, on the west side of town. And in this case, CLT, with its 4" year-to-date deficit, is not very representative of the surrounding area.
If you live in the Queen City, you know well that you can drive an hour in almost any direction, and still be in the city limits. So for weather data to be collected and reported from just one site, seems archaic, but it's the system the National Weather Service lives by, and reports by, and so we go on.
But ask anyone, other than the weather observer out at the airport, if Charlotte is experiencing "drought conditions" and chances are, you'll get a strange look in return.
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