After several weeks of increasingly dry conditions, Western North Carolina has finally seen some much-needed rain, taking the whole region out of drought conditions and into a “moderately dry state.” 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has again classified the whole state as at least abnormally dry with a moderate drought now affecting the entire Smoky Mountain News coverage area other than a sliver of northern Haywood County. 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has again classified the whole state as at least abnormally dry with a moderate drought affecting three far-west counties and most of the eastern part of the state. 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified parts of Western North Carolina as being in a moderate drought.

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified the whole state as at least abnormally dry and a moderate drought has spread in the eastern part of the state, according to the latest advisory released Thursday.  

Following the deluge brought on by Hurricane Helene, parts of Western North Carolina are now considered abnormally dry, while some of the state’s easternmost counties are now in a moderate drought. 

AGAIN. For the second time in three years, Haywood County, the highest east of the Mississippi River, experienced devastating flooding from a tropical weather system that reached mountainous Southern Appalachia’s narrow, rocky canyons and broad, lush river valleys — wiping out whole towns, inundating normally impregnable areas and crippling the communications and transportation infrastructure that powers public safety, commerce and the dissemination of information. 

Over the last couple of weeks, the drought has expanded in Western North Carolina, and it now covers all of Haywood, Swain, Jackson and Macon counties. There was widespread rain over the last week, but it remains to be seen whether that precipitation cut into the drought. 

The first of eight planned new river gauges will be installed in Haywood County this week. When complete the project will greatly enhance Haywood County Emergency Services’ ability to monitor upstream river levels. 

North Carolina is free from extreme drought in the latest advisory issued by the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) on Thursday.