The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) has classified 99 of the state’s 100 counties as experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions in the latest advisory released on Thursday.
In the latest advisory, the DMAC classified five counties in Eastern North Carolina as experiencing severe drought, or D2 conditions: Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow and Pamlico counties. Fifty-eight counties are classified as experiencing moderate drought, or D1 conditions. Another 36 counties are classified as abnormally dry.
“The good news is that these persistent drought and dry conditions have occurred over the winter, when water demands are lower,” said Klaus Albertin, chair of the DMAC. “Farmers have seen some pasture and winter grain impacts, but it’s not the main growing season, so impacts were limited. Water supply reservoirs have been able to manage their levels and are at targets for this time of year. The deficits could set up a challenging spring if the pattern doesn’t change.”
The state has not been drought-free since mid-October. According to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) gathered March 13, for the five months from October through February, the statewide average deficit was 6.64 inches.
“We’ve only had a few weeks that have met or exceeded average rainfall expectations since October,” Albertin said. “As a result, we’ve been slowly building a large deficit. It was somewhat expected because of the La Niña weather pattern.”
As March signals the beginning of the spring wildfire season in North Carolina, the N.C. Forest Service is urging residents to be diligent about best practices and common sense with outdoor fires, especially for burning yard debris.
The NCDEQ Division of Air Quality is also reminding North Carolinians: If it doesn’t grow, don’t burn it. Open burning is only allowed in limited circumstances, and only for vegetative materials like leaves, limbs and yard debris.
In the wake of the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, there are special provisions in place through the end of March to help facilitate efficient and safe processing of vegetative disasters debris in impacted counties. While grinding or chipping wood debris is preferable, guidance for burning debris is available online.
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 ncdrought.org.
To learn more, visit https://www.ncdrought.org/education.