2010 warmer than normal on Grandfather Mountain

[Isopycnic]

I would post these in the December thread but it is (stupidly) closed...........

http://www.wral.com/.../story/8865780/

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Grandfather Mountain has wrapped up a warmer than normal year.

Officials who keep weather data at the North Carolina peak say 27 record highs were set in 2010, compared to just two record lows.

The average overall temperature on Grandfather Mountain last year was nearly 49 degrees, 2.6 degrees warmer than normal.

The high on July 9 reached 83 degrees, which tied the highest temperature recorded in 55 years of record keeping at the station that sits next to the Mile High Swinging Bridge.

The year did end on a cold note. The low Dec. 15 was minus-four degrees and December's average temperature of 31.6 degrees was nearly 7 degrees below normal.

The weather got so bad in December that observers couldn't record data for 10 days during the month.

[Isopycnic]

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/8853556/

Duke Energy customers set winter power record

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Duke Energy says its Carolina customers have set a record for winter power use and should expect to see higher electricity bills this month.

The Greenville News reports Thursday that Duke Energy customers in North and South Carolina set a winter record Dec. 15. The utility based in Charlotte, N.C., generated 17,570 megawatts of electricity between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. That's nearly 300 megawatts more than the previous winter peak, set on Jan. 11.

The National Weather Service says temperatures fell to 11 degrees on Dec. 14 in the Greenville-Spartanburg area. That tied the date's record low, set in 1917.

Utility spokesman Jason Walls says figures aren't yet available to compare energy use this month to a year ago.