Drought in North Carolina, February 1 to 28, 2001

Name: Drought in North Carolina, February 1 to 28, 2001
Start: 2001-02-01T00:00
End: 2001-02-28T23:59
Location: North Carolina

February 1 to 28, 2001 · NWS GSP · 29 events in 29 counties and zones

The long term drought's impact became more severe, even during the winter, as water levels in lakes dropped and stream flow on rivers reached the lowest in memory. More and more communities began water restrictions and started preparing for a busy fire weather season.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 29

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 9:21 PM EST, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 9:21 PM EST, 2 hours 39 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
921 PM EST WED JAN 31 2001

IR SAT LOOPS INDICATE QUITE A BIT OF CI ASSOCIATED WITH STG SOUTHERN
STREAM...AND LOOKS TO BE THICK/EXTENSIVE ENOUGH TO CHG FCST TO PARTLY
CLOUDY IN CLT/GSP GROUP. IN ADDITION...SW WINDS HOLDING TEMPS UP
& WITH CLDS & A SWITCH TO THE NW VRY LATE TONIGHT...WILL NUDGE MINS
UPWARD IN THIS GROUP. LOOKING NW...LEADING EDGE OF STRATCU FIELD
NEARING TENN VLY...SLOWER THAN 18Z MESOETA DEPICTION OF LLVL RH
FIELD WHICH HAD FCST >90% RH AT 850 MB ALONG THE NC/TN BORDER
COUNTIES AT THIS TIME.

PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIVE TILTED UPPER TROUGH STILL
NORTH OF OHIO RIVER & MY NW NC MTNS WERE PROGGED TO JUST GET BRUSHED
BY WEAK PVA OVERNIGHT ANYWAY. STILL SOME POTENTIAL FOR WEAK MOIST
UPSLOPE FLOW TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT TO GENERATE VRY LGT PCPN. EVEN
WITH THE OVERFCST OF RH FIELD BY MESOETA...FCST SNDGS OVER NW NC
MTNS HAD DEPTH OF MOIST LYR ONLY UP TO 850 MB WITH THE TEMP AT
ITS TOP ONLY DOWN TO -6C...WARMER THAN PREFERRED RANGE FOR ICE
CRYSTAL GROWTH. SO...WILL DROP POPS ACRS NW NC MTNS BACK TO SPRINKLES
& FLURRIES (PROBABLY JUST DRIZZLE OR SNOW GRAINS). THIS FITS BETTER
WITH ADJACENT RNK/MRX ZONES ANYWAY.

FCSTID = 55
GSP   41  54  36  48 /   0  10  20  20
AND   40  54  36  48 /   0  10  20  20
CLT   39  54  34  48 /   0  10  20  20
HKY   37  50  29  46 /   0  10  20  20
AVL   35  47  27  41 /  10   0  30  30

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

29 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Alexander

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Alexander forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.921, -81.177 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Avery

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Avery forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 36.077, -81.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Buncombe

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Buncombe forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.611, -82.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Burke

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Burke forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Cabarrus

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Cabarrus forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.387, -80.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Caldwell

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Caldwell forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Catawba

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Catawba forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.663, -81.214 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Cleveland

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Cleveland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.334, -81.556 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Davie

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Davie forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.929, -80.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gaston

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Gaston forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.294, -81.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Graham

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Graham forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.350, -83.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Haywood

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Haywood forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.556, -82.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Henderson

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.336, -82.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Iredell

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Iredell forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.807, -80.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lincoln

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.486, -81.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Macon

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Macon forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.150, -83.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Madison

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.858, -82.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, McDowell

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: McDowell forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Mecklenburg

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Mecklenburg forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.247, -80.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Mitchell

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Mitchell forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 36.013, -82.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Northern Jackson

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.287, -83.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Polk

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Rowan

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Rowan forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.640, -80.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Rutherford

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Rutherford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought, Southern Jackson

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.287, -83.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Swain

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Swain forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.487, -83.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Transylvania

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Transylvania forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.202, -82.798 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Union

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Union forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 34.988, -80.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Yancey

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 28, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Yancey forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 35.899, -82.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, February 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5232377, 5232378, 5232379, 5232380, 5232381, 5232382, 5232383, 5232384, 5232385, 5232386, 5232387, 5232388, 5232389, 5232390, 5232391, 5232392, 5232393, 5232394, 5232476, 5232477, 5232478, 5232479, 5232480, 5232481, 5232482, 5232483, 5232484, 5232485, 5232486.