The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council continues to classify much of Eastern North Carolina as being in a moderate drought, but the entire western part of the state has returned to normal.

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.” 

Most of North Carolina continues to experience moderate drought, according to the latest advisory from the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council. 

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. 

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. 

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