September heat wave unusually hot in central NC, but not unheard of

The first day of September arrives Tuesday, but Mother Nature is reminding us all it’s still summertime. 

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A major heat wave is set to build in through the week in central North Carolina, with days of temperatures as much as 10 or more degrees above average.

We’ve already seen 64 days in 2026 at or above 90 degrees, with 31 hotter than 95 and six afternoons topping 100 degrees. All of those are well above the typical number of hot days we see annually.

And those overall numbers will climb this week. 

We’ll come very close to 100 degrees on a couple of days, which is unusual but not unprecedented for September. Raleigh has reached the century mark seven times in September throughout history, with back-to-back days that hot in 2023. 

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Signs point to a little relief this weekend and early next week. But the long-range pattern still calls for no sign of fall weather, at least through the middle half of the month. 

We’ll just have to keep dealing with summer-like temperatures until that eventual first real fall cold front of the season arrives. 

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