North Carolina is drought-free for the first time since October 2024

North Carolina is drought-free in the latest advisory issued Thursday by the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC), marking the first time since Oct. 15 that the state has been free of drought or abnormally dry conditions.

“Due the drought’s timing in winter and spring, impacts were limited, since it occurred at a time when water demands are typically lower,” said Klaus Albertin, chair of the DMAC. “Reservoir operators were able to control releases to keep water levels near target. There were some limited report impacts to agriculture. We did see an active wildfire season amid the drought and dry conditions.”

The dry conditions were felt across the state in that time period, with the largest rainfall deficits occurring in the period in the coastal plain. Between October and mid-April, Wilmington had a nearly 15-inch rainfall deficit compared to the 30-year average for the same time period, according to the North Carolina State Climate Office. 

However, a band of storms brought significant rain and localized flooding to eastern North Carolina. According to the North Carolina State Climate Office, multiple heavy rain events so far this month have Elizabeth City on pace for its wettest June on record, with 6.52 inches through June 17. Between June 15 and 16, Greenville had a two-day total of 6.71 inches, which was its wettest two-day period since Hurricane Florence in 2018.

“The dryness that began in October of 2024 began tapering off in March and regular, sometimes heavy, rain since then has brought streamflow, reservoir levels, and soil conditions back to normal,” Albertin said. “We shifted out of the La Niña pattern, which allowed regular cold fronts to come through, along with heavy rains.”

DMAC is a collaboration of drought experts from various government agencies in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, and organized by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR). Members of DMAC meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 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.

To learn more, visit https://www.ncdrought.org/education.