Drought Status
For previous weeks' drought status maps, visit the Drought Management Advisory Council's Archives page.
Thursday's release of the U.S. Drought Monitor's map shows only one change in North Carolina. Henderson County improved from extreme to severe drought. North Carolina's 99 other counties remained in the same status as last week on the drought map. In total, 13 counties are now in extreme drought, 25 are in severe drought, 21 are in a moderate drought and 35 remain abnormally dry. Of those categories, abnormally dry is the one that means a county is not experiencing drought but could be in a drought in the future without adequate rainfall.
North Carolinians continue to conserve water. The Division of Water Resources reports Thursday that 5.12 million, or 75.6 percent of the people served by public water systems the state tracks, are subject to voluntary or mandatory water use restrictions.
Gov. Mike Easley urged Tar Heel residents to continue their vigilant water conservation efforts as state climate experts say that North Carolina could be due for a dry summer.