Drought in Eastern Polk, North Carolina

The heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Fay in late August provided some relief to the drought conditions across the area. This was particularly true across the North Carolina piedmont, where improving conditions were aided by normal September rainfall. However, another dry month resulted in a persistence of extreme to exceptional drought conditions across the North Carolina mountains and foothills. Voluntary water restrictions remained widespread during the month. A few communities held onto mandatory restrictions early in the month, but many of these were lifted by the end of the month. Well water remained near record low levels in many areas, while lake levels persisted well below normal stages. Rainfall from Fay resulted in some improvement in streamflows, although most rivers and major streams remained at less than 25 percent of normal, with many still running at less than 10 percent of normal. By the end of the month, government officials had requested a federal disaster declaration for most of the counties in the area, due to crop damages.