Drought in North Carolina

Events

1,652

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Damage

$97 million

• Drought in North Carolina, September 1 to 30, 2007$85 million · 9 eventsDrought conditions worsened across the northwest mountains of North Carolina, east into the foothills and piedmont. September 18th, saw nine counties in northwest North Carolina enter into extreme drought status (D3). This extreme drought continued through the end of September.
• Drought in North Carolina, October 1 to 31, 2007$4.4 million · 9 eventsDrought conditions worsened from September into October with parts of northwest North Carolina entering into the Exceptional (D4) Category from Extreme (D3) the month before.
• Drought in North Carolina, October 1 to 22, 2019$4.0 million · 4 eventsParts of northwest and north central North Carolina entered the severe drought classification (D2 on a scale from D0 to D4) on the October 1st issuance of the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor and remained there for the next two to three weeks (until issuance of October 22nd).
• Drought in North Carolina, October 10 to 31, 1998$2.6 million · 9 eventsDry conditions started in July, subsided in August, started again in September, and continued through October. In most areas, crops were damaged or destroyed before a killing frost occurred. Water levels in creeks, streams, rivers, and lakes were fairly low.
• Drought in North Carolina, June 12 to 30, 2007$487,000 · 2 eventsSignificant rainfall deficits resulted in moderate drought (D2) conditions in Ashe and Watauga counties.
• Wildfire and Drought in North Carolina, December 1 to 31, 2021$364,000 · 4 eventsAbnormally low precipitation totals during December 2021, combined with unusually warm average temperatures (6F-8F degree above normal) through the month across the Piedmont and foothills of northern North Carolina, allowed Severe Drought conditions (D2 per the U.S.
• Drought in North Carolina, November 1 to 25, 1998$225,000 · 9 eventsDry conditions started in July, subsided in August, started again in September, and continued through most of November. In most areas, crops were damaged or destroyed. Water levels in creeks, streams, rivers, and lakes were fairly low. Water levels in some shallow wells were low.
• Drought in North Carolina, December 1 to 31, 200734 eventsThe latter half of December saw a transition to a wetter pattern across the southeast. Most observing stations in western North Carolina|reported above normal monthly rainfall for the first time since January 2007.
• Drought in North Carolina, November 1 to 30, 200734 eventsNovember provided no relief from the effects of the long term drought. In fact, another month of well-below normal rainfall made an already dire situation even worse. Many locations remained on pace to set annual records for rainfall deficit.
• Drought in North Carolina, October 1 to 31, 200734 eventsUnusually dry weather continued across western North Carolina through October. Although a soaking rain near the end of the month resulted in near-normal monthly precipitation for the mountains, the piedmont saw another month of well-below normal rainfall.
• Drought in North Carolina, May 1 to 31, 200734 eventsThe effects of an extended period of dry weather were exacerbated by an abnormally dry May, with many locations reporting one of the driest Mays in recorded history. By the end of May, many climatological stations were reporting yearly rainfall deficits as high as 10 inches.
• Drought in North Carolina, September 1 to 30, 200734 eventsExtreme drought conditions persisted across western North Carolina through September, as the region experienced another month of well-below normal precipitation. By the end of the month, most locations were running a yearly rainfall deficit of 11-17 inches.
• Drought in North Carolina, June 1 to 30, 200734 eventsDespite an increase in thunderstorm activity, drought conditions persisted across much of western North Carolina. The persistent drought continued to cause hardships to agricultural interests that were still recuperating from the April freeze.
• Drought in North Carolina, August 1 to 31, 200734 eventsSevere to extreme drought conditions persisted across much of western North Carolina during August. By the end of the month, voluntary water restrictions continued in almost all North Carolina counties along and west of I-77.
• Drought in North Carolina, January 1 to 31, 200834 eventsJanuary saw a return to dry weather across western North Carolina.|Most observing stations across the region reported a rainfall deficit of 1 to 2 inches during the month, resulting in another month of exceptional drought conditions across most of the area.
• Drought in North Carolina, September 1 to 30, 200834 eventsThe heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Fay in late August provided some relief to the drought conditions across the area. This was particularly true across the North Carolina piedmont, where improving conditions were aided by normal September rainfall.
• Drought in North Carolina, July 1 to 31, 200834 eventsUnusually dry weather continued through the month of July, with severe to extreme drought conditions persisting across the area.
• Drought in North Carolina, June 1 to 30, 200834 eventsAlthough near normal rainfall was observed across much of the area during the late winter and early spring, another period of abnormally dry weather in May and June exacerbated severe to extreme drought conditions over the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia.
• Drought in North Carolina, August 1 to 31, 200834 eventsDry weather persisted across much of the area for most of August, although portions of the North Carolina Piedmont began to see relief from the dry conditions early in the month, due to an increase in daily thunderstorm activity.
• Drought in North Carolina, April 1 to 30, 202634 eventsA protracted period of abnormally dry weather that began in autumn of 2025 and continued through the winter culminated in extreme drought conditions across much of western North Carolina by early spring.
• Drought in North Carolina, May 1 to 31, 202634 eventsAfter a near-record dry April, the impacts of months-long precipitation deficits as high as 18 resulted in extreme to exceptional drought conditions lingering into May across western North Carolina.
• Drought in North Carolina, July 1 to 31, 200733 eventsDrought conditions persisted across much of western North Carolina during July. By the end of July, voluntary water restrictions were instituted in almost all North Carolina counties along and west of I-77. Some mandatory restrictions were introduced in Union County, NC.
• Drought in North Carolina, October 1 to 31, 199829 eventsThe drought which began during the summer continued through October. The only significant rainfall during the month occurred on the 7-8th. Cities and counties began to restrict water usage and streamflows for several mountain locations were reduced to the lowest seen in 50 years.
• Drought in North Carolina, November 1 to 30, 199829 eventsDry weather persisted into the late fall with rainfall deficits between 5 and 10 inches. This affected late season crops and caused water shortages. Water usage restrictions were initiated in many communities.
• Drought in North Carolina, July 1 to 31, 199829 eventsDry weather continued through much of the month of July, affecting crops during the critical part of the growing season. Corn and other vegetables sustained the most damage, but a dollar amount was not available at the time of this writing.

Drought everywhereEvery kind of event in North Carolina

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.