Parts of NC are now in ‘exceptional drought.’ How much rain do we need?
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- Parts of North Carolina have moved into exceptional drought, the worst rating.
- Raleigh Water began mandatory restrictions April 20 for more than 650,000 customers.
- Falls Lake is about 80% full and would need to reach 95% in May to lift restrictions.
Parts of North Carolina are now under exceptional drought conditions, the worst of five drought ratings, as the state-wide drought continues to get worse.
The handful of showers this week helped, but not nearly enough to make a meaningful impact.
“We get a lot of questions asking: It rained, is the drought over?” said Linwood Peele, supervisor of Department of Environment Quality’s Division of Water Resources Water Supply Planning. “With some areas in a more than 15-inch deficit, we are going to need almost twice the normal amount of rainfall per week for a few months to get out. It’s also going to get hotter, and we are going to peak growing season, where water demands are higher.”
Rain is likely for most of the state except for western North Carolina this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Looking further, the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for May 8-14 shows a near even split between above, below and near normal ranges for rain across the state with above normal beating out the others with 36%.
Wake County jumped from 48.85% to 70% of it in extreme drought, the second-worst ranking, and Durham and Orange counties remain 100% in extreme drought.
Charlotte begins mandatory restrictions
More than 60 water systems across the state have mandatory or voluntary restrictions related to the drought.
Union County, and parts of Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties, moved into the exceptional drought ranking, this week, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Charlotte Water began voluntary restrictions last month, but will have mandatory restrictions beginning on Friday, May 15.
Those restrictions limit when residents can water their lawns, wash their cars and top off their pools, among other stipulations, The Charlotte Observer reported.
“Utilities and large users are implementing the required protocol measures, and we need residents and businesses to immediately cut back on nonessential water use,” Jimmy Bagley, deputy city manager for Rock Hill and chair of the Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group, said in a news release. “Every day of conservation matters — and acting early can help prevent even tougher restrictions in the weeks ahead.”
When could Raleigh Water restrictions end?
Raleigh Water begin mandatory water restrictions on Monday, April 20, due to the drought for its more than 650,000 customers which includes several eastern Wake County towns.
It’s unlikely water restrictions will end until this summer without consistent rainfall, said Ed Buchan, assistant director of Raleigh Water.
Falls Lake, Raleigh’s primary source of drinking water, is about 80% full and would need to reach 95% capacity in May for Raleigh to drop its restrictions.
But the threshold, or exit trigger, to stop water restrictions rises throughout the summer.
“The exit trigger for June is 85%, so that seems possible if we start getting more regular rainfall,” he said. “Failing that, the exit trigger drops to 75% in July, so that is perhaps the most likely opportunity to lift Stage 1 (restrictions).”
More restrictions would be added in May if the water supply drops to 55%, according to the city’s Water Shortage Response Plan.
As of Thursday, April 30, the city has issued about 70 education letters for violations but no civil penalties, he said.
“The restrictions do seem to be having a beneficial impact on our demand, as the average day demand last week was 5 million gallons (per) day lower than the previous week when no restrictions were in place,” he said. “It’s still early to really have a good sense of the long term impact of the restrictions, but hopefully the trend of overall lower demand will continue. As you might guess, rain events and temperature also play a big part in overall water demand.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Parts of NC are now in ‘exceptional drought.’ How much rain do we need?."
