Summer heat is holding its grip on eastern North Carolina, keeping most of the region locked in a stubborn moderate drought.
While scattered storms brought minor relief to parts of Craven, Jones, and Onslow counties this week, it simply wasn't enough to break the dry spell.
The biggest crisis remains just to the south. Brunswick County is marked under the U.S. Drought Monitor’s worst category—Exceptional Drought—and remains under a strict Stage 3 water warning.
State officials warn that regional groundwater and reservoir levels are still dangerously low. They are urging all eastern North Carolina residents to voluntarily cut back on watering lawns and washing cars.
With no major tropical systems in the immediate forecast, experts say conservation is the best defense.
