Severe drought covers a quarter of NC counties amid record-breaking heat

June marks the 13th consecutive month of global record-breaking high temperatures. North Carolina has not been spared from the heat.

“We are trending toward one of our warmest years on record in North Carolina,” said Kathie Dello, N.C.’s state climatologist. “While we haven’t had 13 months of consistent records in North Carolina, we are feeling the heat — both in the daytime and the nighttime temperatures.”

Elevated temperatures have dried out many parts of the state. About a quarter of counties now have severe drought advisories. Out east, Columbus County is in extreme drought, according to the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council.

The council is a collaboration between many state and federal agencies, as well as private utilities such as Duke Energy. The group meets weekly to determine what parts of the state are experiencing a drought and determine how drought conditions are manifesting. For example, the N.C. Forest Service updates the council on how the drought worsens wildfire conditions in the state.

“[This drought has] been very quick and very extreme,” said Klaus Albertin, who chairs the council.

He described current dry conditions as “unusual.” Leading up to the drought, April was a dry month punctuated by heavy rainfall in May.

“Based on all the different indicators, the state was considered to be normal,” Albertin said. “But then June came around, and most places got maybe an inch, maybe an inch-and-a-half of rain over the entire month.”

Lower elevations in the state should expect 4-5 inches of rain this time of year; the mountains should expect nearly double that amount. The onset of the drought happened rapidly after the May rains.

“Another week went by, sometimes we just didn’t get any rainfall. Sometimes stations got maybe a quarter of an inch when typically they would get an inch each week. It’s been very quick and very extreme,” Albertin said.

The council reviews historical data — going back at least 30 years — at National Weather Stations across the state to determine what is normal rainfall for a county or region.

“If the station has data back to 1895, which some do, we look at what those normals are,” Albertin said.

Fossil fuel combustion elevates global temperatures, quickening drying after rainfall. While annual average precipitation in the state has remained relatively stable, weather events are trending toward the extreme, in what Albertin described as a weather “roller coaster” effect.

“We get these real extreme dry periods followed by some real extreme rainfall,” Albertin said.

Some municipalities have already enacted voluntary water restrictions. Dello said the agricultural sector has been hit hard; North Carolina farmers lost many corn crops this year.

“No matter what rain we get, we can’t turn those losses around,” Dello said.

There is hope for rain on the horizon, but even that comes with its caveats. The National Weather Service has predicted an above-average hurricane season in the Atlantic this year.

“We do need some of that tropical moisture to make its way here — and hopefully not in a very destructive way,” Dello said. “Our soils are really dry. I know even the average homeowner is saying, ‘I don’t have to mow my lawn, but my garden is doing terrible.”