CHARLOTTE — Drought conditions have expanded across the Carolinas with the latest drought monitor update on Thursday.
In North Carolina, 5.2 million residents are now in areas of drought, which is a 26% increase since last week.
In South Carolina, 2.4 million residents are now experiencing drought conditions, an increase of 7.8%.
Notably, conditions have worsened in western North Carolina, where many communities have been elevated from “dry” to “moderate drought” status. This comes as wildfires continue to spread.
Dry conditions, storm debris left over from Helene last fall, and breezy winds have all caused the rapid spread of these fires.
A soaking rain is needed to help alleviate both the fire and drought conditions across the area. The forecast does call for rain to return late in the weekend and into early next week. However, rainfall totals are not forecasted high enough to solve all of these problems.
In Charlotte, rain accumulations are running over 3 inches behind where they should be at this point in the year.
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