Drought conditions are expanding across eastern NC, and parts of the coastal plain is in Stage 1 Moderate Drought.
Areas in far southeast NC (tan color) are in Stage 1 Moderate Drought, and areas in yellow shading is Stage 0 Abnormally Dry.
Over the past 30 days, portions of eastern NC has received 30-60% less rain than normal. Many areas in western and central NC have received near average precipitation, but that was due to very heavy rain during the first 10 days of May. Charlotte has not seen measurable rain over the past 20 days.
The good news is some rain is possible on Friday; however, another area of high pressure will move into the southeast United States for this weekend and early net week. Another front is expected to move into the area during the middle of next week; however, widespread rain is not expected over the next seven days.
The image above shows the amount of rain over the next seven days. The good news is there will be two opportunities for rain, but the bad news is the showers and storms are not expected to be widespread. Drought conditions could continue to worsen and expand over the next few weeks unless the current pattern begins to break down.
