Most of North Carolina remains in extreme or severe drought

Recent rainfall helped improve drought conditions in some parts of the state, but most of the state remains in extreme or severe drought, according to the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council. The exceptional drought classification has been removed. 

“The weekend rains were beneficial in much of the state,” said Klaus Albertin, chair of the DMAC. “For the first time in months, we actually saw the rainfall deficits drop a little. We still have a long way to go, but for the short term, soil moisture and stream flows have increased. The drop in reservoir elevations slowed as a result of the rain, but water demand is still higher than inflows to many water supplies.” 

The southern Piedmont and western part of the state saw the heaviest rains, and in some cases, precipitation improved the drought classification by one category, according to Albertin. Rain gages near Asheville recorded nearly 8 inches of rain in the week through Wednesday, based on data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center. 

“The northern Piedmont, including the drainage areas for Falls Lake and Jordan Lake, once again saw less than normal rainfall amounts,” Albertin said. “We are hopeful that the recent rains are an indication that the dry pattern we experienced since last August is shifting towards a more typical pattern for North Carolina.” 

Water reservoir levels, streamflows and other measures are still much below normal. The public should check with their local water supply system for any information on water use restrictions that may be in place.  

Rainfall totals since August of last year in Boone and in Raleigh are still down approximately 18 inches compared with historical averages for the same period, according to the NC State Climate Office. Rainfall totals recorded by gages in the Raleigh area are at record-low levels for the last six months, based on data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center. According to the state’s network of monitoring wells, groundwater levels are near record lows in many areas of the state based on records going back as far as 1965.  

DMAC is a collaboration of drought experts from various government agencies in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, and organized by DEQ’s Division of Water Resources. DMAC members meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center for updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a map of the nation’s drought conditions. DMAC’s drought map is updated weekly on Thursdays, based on conditions through the previous Tuesday. To view North Carolina’s drought map, visit www.ncdrought.org.