Welcome to Raleigh!

Raleigh is the capital of the State of North Carolina and the county seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees, though pine trees are the dominant species. It has a population of approximately 367,995 , making it the second most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte and the 51st largest city in the United States. Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill make up the three cities of The Triangle. This name comes from the 1959 creation of a research park Research Triangle Park, located mostly within Durham County. The Triangle is an urban region, equivalent to the U.S. Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area of Raleigh-Durham-Cary. Its estimated total population as of 2006 was 1,565,223. The estimated Raleigh-Cary metropolitan statistical area population, as of 2006, is 994,551. While almost all of the city limits is located in Wake County, a few small portions of Raleigh are actually in Durham County as a result of annexation.
Raleigh was chosen as the site of a new state capital in 1788, and was officially established in 1792 as both the new county seat and the new state capital. It was named in November 1792 for Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of the Colony of Roanoke, which was also known as the "Lost Colony" (today, the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site).
The site was chosen for being within ten miles of Isaac Hunter's Tavern, which was apparently popular with the legislators of the time. No city or town existed on the site before it was chosen to house the capital. Raleigh is one of the few cities in the U.S. planned and built specifically to serve as a state capital.
The North Carolina General Assembly first met in Raleigh in December 1794, and within one month, the legislature officially granted the city a charter, with a board of seven appointed commissioners (starting in 1803, elected by the people) and an "Intendant of Police" (what would later be called "Mayor") to govern it. John Haywood was the first Intendant of Police.
Despite being spared destruction in the Civil War, Raleigh grew very little from its original 1792 size until the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1920s, the establishment of the Research Triangle Park in the 1950s, and a freeway known as the Beltline (I-440/US-1/US-64) in the 1960s. IBM became an influential force in Raleigh in the 1960s, and greatly influenced the city's growth.
Raleigh has a moderate subtropical climate, with moderate weather in the spring, fall, and winter. However, summers can be hot and humid. Winter temperatures generally range from highs in the low 50s°F (10-13 °C) to lows in the upper 20s-mid 30s°F (-2 to 2 °C), though 60 °F degree weather is not uncommon. Spring and fall days are usually in the low to mid 70s°F (low 20s°C), with nights in the 50s°F (10-14 °C). Summer days are often in the upper 80s and low 90s °F (30-35 °C,) with very high humidity. The rainiest months are July and August.Raleigh receives little or no snow during most winters.