Drought Monitor Update – Thursday, July 11, 2024

Last Updated on July 11, 2024 9:31 am

In the latest drought update for North Carolina, it's a mixed bag for the High Country after recent rains. A majority of Avery County is in moderate drought status, a majority of Ashe is in abnormally dry conditions and it's nearly a 50/50 split for Watauga between abnormally dry and moderate drought.

Last week, a good portion of Watauga, Ashe and Avery were in the moderate drought category, while about a 1/4 of each of the counties were in the abnormally dry status (see the map comparisons at the end of this article).

The weekly update, put out by the North Carolina Drought Management Council, shows 1 county in the Extreme Drought status, 22 counties in the Severe Drought category, 71 counties in Moderate Drought, and 6 counties in Abnormally Dry status.

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.

D3 – Extreme Drought