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ClimateWinter daytime temperatures average above 44 degrees Fahrenheit (7 Celsius). Summer daytime temperatures range above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 Celsius). Eastern NC has a fairly wet climate with average precipitation for this area averaging 48 to 52 inches (122 to 132 centimeters). Late fall through early spring is often a very stormy period around the Neuse and Pamlico. Powerful storms lash the coast with heavy rain, strong winds and sometimes severe beach erosion. The flip side is that from early fall to late spring you can count on steady breezes. In the summer, winds will usually pick up in the early afternoon, perhaps to be followed by a thunderstorm ("Neuse River Hurricaine") come late afternoon. Hurricanes and floods are complex natural events that occur with some regularity in North Carolina. A pattern began in 1996 with greater-than-normal tropical cyclone activity in North Carolina. Between 1886 and 1999, one tropical cyclone made landfall in North Carolina on average once every 3.4 years, and between 1961 and 1995, only six tropical cyclones made landfall in the State. However, between 1996 and 1999, six additional tropical cyclones made landfall in North Carolina, and several others substantially affected the State. South of New Bern, we haven't experienced the dramatic flooding that resulted from Hurricanes Dennis, Floyd, and Irene in September and October 1999. The river becomes wide and estuarine as it nears the Pamlico, so flood waters don't tend to stack up against the banks. Just outside of town, where the Neuse River meets the Pamlico Sound, it is the widest river in America. Nor do lunar tides have much effect upon water levels in the river or on the Sound. What does affect the Sound and lower Neuse are wind tides which can blow between one and six feet of water from one side of the Sound to the other. The force of a northerly or north-easterly wind pushes the waters of the Sound and the Neuse river all the way back to their banks; and when the winds are strong enough - over their banks. Like a giant tea cup, one side will go dry while the other side floods. This can make life interesting for anchored boats left high on mud banks until the wind changes. Our sailboat club is on 20 foot pilings to protect it against the wind flooding a sustained hurricane can bring.
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