Last Updated on July 9, 2026 3:21 pm

North Carolina's drought worsened this week after several weeks of improvement. Exceptional Drought (D4) ticked up from 8 to 9 counties with the addition of Brunswick County. Extreme Drought (D3) expanded from 41 to 46 counties.

In the High Country, Alleghany County moved back to Extreme Drought (D3) after briefly improving to D2 last month. Wilkes County remains in Extreme Drought (D3). Watauga, Ashe, Avery, and Caldwell counties remain in Severe Drought (D2).

Five other counties also moved from D2 to D3 this week: Bertie, Edgecombe, Stokes, Surry, and Transylvania.

The weekly update, put out by the North Carolina Drought Management Council, shows all 100 counties experiencing some level of drought.

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

  • Alamance

  • Brunswick

  • Caswell

  • Durham

  • Granville

  • Guilford

  • Orange

  • Person

  • Rockingham

Total: 9

D3 – Extreme Drought

  • Alexander

  • Alleghany

  • Anson

  • Bertie

  • Cabarrus

  • Chatham

  • Columbus

  • Cumberland

  • Davidson

  • Davie

  • Duplin

  • Edgecombe

  • Forsyth

  • Franklin

  • Graham

  • Greene

  • Halifax

  • Harnett

  • Haywood

  • Iredell

  • Jackson

  • Johnston

  • Lee

  • Lenoir

  • Macon

  • Martin

  • Montgomery

  • Nash

  • Pender

  • Pitt

  • Randolph

  • Richmond

  • Rowan

  • Sampson

  • Scotland

  • Stanly

  • Stokes

  • Surry

  • Swain

  • Transylvania

  • Vance

  • Wake

  • Warren

  • Wilkes

  • Wilson

  • Yadkin

Total: 46

D2 – Severe Drought

  • Ashe

  • Avery

  • Beaufort

  • Bladen

  • Burke

  • Caldwell

  • Catawba

  • Cherokee

  • Clay

  • Cleveland

  • Craven

  • Gaston

  • Henderson

  • Hertford

  • Hoke

  • Jones

  • Lincoln

  • McDowell

  • Mecklenburg

  • Mitchell

  • Moore

  • New Hanover

  • Northampton

  • Onslow

  • Polk

  • Robeson

  • Rutherford

  • Union

  • Watauga

  • Wayne

  • Yancey

Total: 31

D1 – Moderate Drought

  • Buncombe

  • Camden

  • Carteret

  • Chowan

  • Currituck

  • Dare

  • Gates

  • Hyde

  • Madison

  • Pamlico

  • Pasquotank

  • Perquimans

  • Tyrrell

  • Washington

Total: 14

Residents are strongly encouraged to continue water conservation efforts and stay informed about local drought conditions.

The post Drought Monitor Update — Thursday July 9, 2026 appeared first on WataugaOnline.com.

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