June 2013 could end with a record for rainfall, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Wilmington.
Wilmington’s wettest June on record was in 1962, with 12.87 inches. So far this month, NWS has measured 10.34 inches here.
“Could we break the record?” the agency tweeted Friday.
It noted an increasing potential for heavy rainfall Friday and over the weekend per tropical moisture streaming into the Carolinas. Damaging winds, hail and flooding are possible.
“The unsettled weather will continue into much of next week,” said the NWS report.
The official forecast as of Friday afternoon called for showers and thunderstorms overnight, likely between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., with the chance of precipitation 60 percent.
New rainfall amounts were expected between a tenth and quarter of an inch, “except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.”
For Saturday, NWS expects possibly heavy showers and thunderstorms mainly before 3 p.m.
Click here for current info from NWS.
Lightning safety
The agency is also pushing Lightning Safety Awareness Week, June 23-29.
“You are not safe anywhere outside during a thunderstorm,” according to NWS. “Seek shelter immediately in an enclosed, sturdy building, or a car if you cannot make it indoors.”
It’s a myth that the sky’s lack of rain or clouds immediately overhead means safety from lightning, says NWS. “Lightning often strikes more than three miles from the center of the thunderstorm, far outside the rain or thunderstorm cloud.
“‘Bolts from the blue’ can strike 10-15 miles from the thunderstorm.”
The agency said that 238 poeple across the country were struck and killed by lightning between 2006-2012. Two-thirds of the deaths occurred during outdoor activities.
Click here for more information about lightning safety.
