Drought in Western Dare, North Carolina

Severe drought (D2) designation continued for Mainland Dare County through late August 2011 just prior to Hurricane Irene. Significant rainfall occurred across the county with the passage of Hurricane Irene. Storm total rainfall from Hurricane Irene at Dare Bomb Range (7.57 inches) indicated sufficient precipitation to remove drought designation for Mainland Dare County.

Severe drought (D2) began impacting Eastern North Carolina in early June and worsened to extreme drought (D3) by early July for several extreme eastern North Carolina counties. As of mid August and prior to Hurricane Irene, Local Climatological Data Sites New Bern and Cape Hatteras observed fifty-three and seventy-six percent of normal precipitation, respectively. Hurricane Irene brought much needed 7 to 14 inches of precipitation to the region in late August which diminished drought impacts below D0 for all counties except Duplin that remains abnormally dry (D0). Prior to Hurricane Irene, the region had received well below normal precipitation since last winter. As a result of these conditions, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources banned open burning in Eastern North Carolina through early August but lifted then ban by mid month.