Last Updated on July 23, 2026 9:11 am
North Carolina's drought showed its most significant single-week improvement this year, with Exceptional Drought (D4) dropping from 8 counties to just 2 — Brunswick and Rockingham. Six counties that were at D4 last week improved to Extreme Drought (D3).
Abnormally Dry (D0) — the lightest classification — nearly tripled from 4 to 11 counties, all in the northeast and mountain regions. Extreme Drought (D3) dropped from 38 to 32 counties.
In the High Country, all six counties remain in Severe Drought (D2): Watauga, Ashe, Avery, Alleghany, Caldwell, and Wilkes. Conditions are unchanged from last week.
Wake County (Raleigh) improved from D3 to D2 this week. All 100 counties remain under some level of drought or abnormally dry conditions.
The weekly update, put out by the North Carolina Drought Management Council, shows continued improvement across the state.
Drought categories are based on streamflow, groundwater levels, the amount of water stored in reservoirs, soil moisture, the time of year, and other relevant factors for assessing the extent and severity of dry conditions.
D4 – Exceptional Drought
- Brunswick
- Rockingham
Total: 2
D3 – Extreme Drought
- Alamance
- Anson
- Caswell
- Chatham
- Columbus
- Cumberland
- Davidson
- Davie
- Duplin
- Durham
- Forsyth
- Granville
- Greene
- Guilford
- Halifax
- Harnett
- Haywood
- Jackson
- Lenoir
- Macon
- Orange
- Pender
- Person
- Pitt
- Randolph
- Sampson
- Stokes
- Swain
- Transylvania
- Union
- Vance
- Warren
Total: 32
D2 – Severe Drought
- Alexander
- Alleghany
- Ashe
- Avery
- Beaufort
- Bertie
- Bladen
- Burke
- Cabarrus
- Caldwell
- Catawba
- Cherokee
- Clay
- Cleveland
- Craven
- Edgecombe
- Franklin
- Gaston
- Graham
- Henderson
- Hoke
- Iredell
- Johnston
- Jones
- Lee
- Martin
- Mecklenburg
- Mitchell
- Montgomery
- Moore
- Nash
- New Hanover
- Northampton
- Onslow
- Polk
- Richmond
- Robeson
- Rowan
- Rutherford
- Scotland
- Stanly
- Surry
- Wake
- Watauga
- Wayne
- Wilkes
- Wilson
- Yadkin
Total: 48
D1 – Moderate Drought
- Buncombe
- Carteret
- Hertford
- Lincoln
- McDowell
- Pamlico
- Yancey
Total: 7
D0 – Abnormally Dry
- Camden
- Chowan
- Currituck
- Dare
- Gates
- Hyde
- Madison
- Pasquotank
- Perquimans
- Tyrrell
- Washington
Total: 11
Residents are strongly encouraged to continue water conservation efforts and stay informed about local drought conditions.
