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Shaded-relief map of Nebo, North Carolina: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
NORTH CAROLINA · MCDOWELL COUNTY

Nebo

1,790 people, 1,340 ft above sea level in McDowell County.

1,340 ftElevation, city center
1,790People, 2024 estimate
5 sq miLand area
Sunny 47°
Sunny now Dew point 26° · WNW 6 mph · high 38°
City of Nebo River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Nebo plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Nebo

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM EST
RIGHT NOW Morganton-Lenoir Airport (KMRN) · 4:35 PM
Sunny
47° Sunny Feels like 44° · high of 38° near 4 PM
WindWNW 6 mphno gusts
Humidity44%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure30.14 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 26° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 130.01 in · 1 dry day
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for McDowell County
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:02 AM5:21 PM ↓
10 h 19 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
2
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: 35, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
38°
28°
45°
26°
52°
30°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
7
5
5
3
3
3
5
5
3
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 26 to 34° More humid: 34° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38° 27°
0% rain — NW 7 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
46° 26°
0% rain — NNW 4 B
MON Nov. 16 Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
55° 29°
0% rain — NNW 0 B
TUE Nov. 17 Sunny Sunny
58° 32°
0% rain — NNE 5 A
WED Nov. 18 Sunny Sunny
61° 34°
0% rain — ENE 5 A
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
64° 38°
0% rain — NNW 5 A
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
66° 38°
0% rain — N 5 B
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Nebo about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the northern Rockies three days ago, about 1,850 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. Near the ground the air came from the southern Plains; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific north of Hawaii. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK, SIX YEARS AGO Nov. 11–12, 2020

The wettest two days this week has seen

3.90 inches of rain fell in two days, the most for this week of the year since records began in 1893. The next wettest, 3.68 inches, fell in 1935.

3.68″
3.90″
19352020
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Marion record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Nebo stands on

Nebo’s center stands about 1,340 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,140 ft to 1,720 ft, a difference of 580 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Woodys Knob, about 4,160 ft, 15 miles northwest.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Biotite Gneiss and Schist (biotite-gneiss, mica-schist, calc-silicate-rock), from the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian, 487 to 1,000 million years old.

The section below crosses 10 rock units mapped at the surface.

Nebo, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
1,000 ft2,000 ft3,000 ft NEBO1,340 ftLow point1,030 ftCatawba Riverabout 1,190 ftHigh point of the line3,350 ftNorth Fork Catawba Riverabout 1,510 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 8×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Migmatitic Granitic Gneiss

Biotite-gneiss. Age: Cambrian to Ordovician, 445 to 542 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Biotite Gneiss and Schist

Biotite-gneiss, mica-schist, calc-silicate-rock. Age: Neoproterozoic to Cambrian, 487 to 1,000 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Alligator Back Formation; Gneiss

Gneiss. Age: Neoproterozoic, 542 to 1,000 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Chilhowee Group; Upper Chilhowee

Quartzite. Age: Cambrian, 487 to 542 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Biotite Granitic Gneiss

Gneiss. Age: Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic, 950 to 1,250 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Chilhowee Group; Lower Chilhowee

Quartzite. Age: Cambrian, 487 to 542 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale. 4 smaller units along the line are not listed.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Nebo’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Nebo reaches the Atlantic Ocean by way of Shadrick Creek, the Catawba, the Wateree, the Congaree, the Santee and the South Santee: about 410 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Nebo≈ 410 mi · the Atlantic Ocean
FROM THE CENTER OF NEBO ≈ 410 mi to the Atlantic Ocean Shadrick Creek → Catawba → Wateree → Congaree → Santee → South Santee

Lakes on the way: Lib Pines Lake and Lake Norman.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Nebo; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Nebo’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Marion, 5 mi west-southwest

Nebo has a humid subtropical climate. Summer afternoons average 85° in July; winter nights fall to about 28° in January. A normal year brings about 7 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 57 inches of water.

49°28°53°31°60°37°70°46°76°55°82°63°85°67°84°66°79°60°70°48°60°38°51°31° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1 TODAY NEBO 56.6 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average85° / 67°high / low, the warmest month
January, average49° / 28°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow56.6 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year7.1 insnowiest: February
Hottest on record106°FJuly 28, 1952
Coldest on record−11°FJanuary 21, 1985
Wettest day on record8.20 inAugust 13, 1940
Snowiest day on record14.0 inFebruary 16, 1969
Climate typeHumid subtropicalKöppen Cfa

AROUND THE RING

1Lows below freezingDec. 8 to Feb. 22; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Nebo normally reaches 61° and falls to 38°. The record high is 79°, in 1909; the record low 18°, in 1986. The most rain on this date, 1.48 in, fell in 1972.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high49°53°60°70°76°82°85°84°79°70°60°51°
Normal low28°31°37°46°55°63°67°66°60°48°38°31°
Rain and melt, in4.693.654.334.905.305.475.135.184.754.094.184.91
Snow, inches1.92.11.40.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.01.7
Record high86° (1927)81° (2017)95° (1907)94° (1925)99° (2004)102° (1954)106° (1952)103° (1925)103° (1925)96° (1954)84° (2003)84° (1926)
Record low−11° (1985)−7° (1958)5° (1943)14° (2000)24° (2000)33° (2000)44° (2000)37° (2000)23° (2000)17° (2000)6° (1950)−5° (1894)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Marion, 5 miles west-southwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Nebo on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Hickory NC · 33 MI 33 miles east Asheville NC · 37 MI 37 miles west Charlotte NC · 70 MI 70 miles southeast Greensboro NC · 120 MI 120 miles east Durham NC · 170 MI 170 miles east Raleigh NC · 184 MI 184 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Nebo, North Carolina. Explore the plate
NORTH CAROLINA · MCDOWELL

Nebo

1,790 people, 1,340 ft above sea level in McDowell County.

1,340 ftElevation
1,790People
5 sq miLand
Sunny 47°
SunnyDew point 26°
1

Today in Nebo

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 38° 0%
7p mostly clear night 33° 0%
10p clear night 30° 0%
1a mostly clear night 29° 0%
4a mostly clear night 28° 0%
7a mostly sunny 28° 0%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
27
38
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
26
46
B
Mon0%
Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
29
55
B
Tue0%
Sunny Sunny
32
58
A
Wed0%
Sunny Sunny
34
61
A
Thu0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
64
A
Fri0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
66
B
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, SIX YEARS AGO · NOV. 11–12, 2020

3.90 inches in two days, the most for this week since 1893.

2

What Nebo stands on

Nebo’s center stands about 1,340 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,140 ft to 1,720 ft, a difference of 580 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Woodys Knob, about 4,160 ft, 15 miles northwest.

Nebo, south to north Nebo1,340 ftCatawba Riverabout 1,190 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 16×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,340 ft
Within 3 miles1,140 to 1,720 ft
Lie of the landHilly (580 ft of relief)
High point nearbyWoodys Knob, 4,160 ft, 15 mi northwest
Rock at the surfaceBiotite Gneiss and Schist
Its ageNeoproterozoic to Cambrian, 487 to 1,000 million years old
5

Nebo’s year

Nebo has a humid subtropical climate. Summer afternoons average 85° in July; winter nights fall to about 28° in January. A normal year brings about 7 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 57 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1 56.6 in
July, average85° / 67° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average49° / 28° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow56.6 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year7.1 in · snowiest: February
Hottest on record106°F · July 28, 1952
Coldest on record−11°F · January 21, 1985
Wettest day on record8.20 in · August 13, 1940
Snowiest day on record14.0 in · February 16, 1969
Climate typeHumid subtropical · Köppen Cfa
1Lows below freezing · Dec. 8 to Feb. 22; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Nebo normally reaches 61° and falls to 38°. The record high is 79°, in 1909; the record low 18°, in 1986. The most rain on this date, 1.48 in, fell in 1972.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Marion, 5 miles west-southwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 410 mito the Atlantic OceanShadrick Creek → Catawba → Wateree → Congaree → Santee → South Santee

A raindrop that lands in Nebo reaches the Atlantic Ocean by way of Shadrick Creek, the Catawba, the Wateree, the Congaree, the Santee and the South Santee: about 410 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Lib Pines Lake and Lake Norman.