The latest drought report released Thursday morning showed some small improvements from last week.
An inland portion of our southern coastal counties exited the drought from Wilmington to New Bern, and severe drought conditions improved to moderate drought in Sampson, Duplin and Cumberland counties.
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A pocket of extreme drought in our northern viewing area grew slightly into Northampton County, and Western North Carolina saw more drought removal extending into Caldwell and Avery counties.
An end in sight?
We will still need to see several more inches of widespread heavy rain to make up for the dry weather that has persisted for close to a full year, but it's looking like it will no longer take a tropical system to make up the difference.
The last update from the U.S. Drought Monitor on the drought outlook for August showed a good probability that most of the state would be out of the drought by the end of the month. The outlook uses short and long-range statistics and dynamic forecast models to predict drought trends.
As we end the month it's looking more likely that the drought will still linger for most of the state into September. The next outlook should release in the next few days.
Lake levels improve
We've seen the second-wettest July on record, and the city of Raleigh stopped water restrictions effective Aug. 3.
Falls Lake, Raleigh's primary drinking water supply, also continued to rise for another week and is looking significantly better than it was just a month ago.
On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided updated levels for Falls Lake.
The lake saw another rise, although not nearly as much of a rise as the more than 2 feet rise to the lake's levels last week. Falls Lake was at 248.7 feet on Tuesday, up a few inches from last week. The lake now needs less than 3 feet of water elevation to be back at its "normal" level.
The lake's supply pool is now up to 87%, which experts said approaches a typical level seen during the seasonal ebb and flow of lake levels.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the "normal" level for the lake is set at 251.5 feet year-round to balance having extra room for floodwater storage alongside keeping the area's drinking water supply topped off.
A 2017 water reallocation study showed the lake typically doesn't see impacts to boating and recreational activity unless it drops below 247 feet, which was the case earlier in July when the lake was roughly 6 feet below normal elevation.
"While recent rain has made a big difference, dry conditions will continue across our region. Falls Lake is not yet back to full capacity, and it is important to continue using water wisely," the city said. "Thank you for helping protect Raleigh’s water supply. Every drop counts."