Rains pounded Charlotte. Are we still in a drought?
The Charlotte area received 2 to 2 1/2 inches of sometimes pounding rain this week, according to the National Weather Service. But did Wednesday and Thursday’s downpours alleviate what the U.S. Drought Monitor map classifies as our extreme drought?
“We don’t expect it to end our drought,” NWS meteorologist Mike Rehnberg said Friday.
Friday, Concord and Kannapolis officials said the cities will move to level 2 mandatory water restrictions beginning Friday, May 15.
Rainfall below historic levels, NWS says
The rains “put a dent into our deficits,” Rehnberg told The Charlotte Observer. “It’s certainly enough to take a chunk out of our drought status.”
Still, Charlotte is nearly 7 inches below the amount of rain that historically falls by early May, he said: 15.27 inches compared with 8.34 inches this year.
“So it’s still a very hefty deficit,” Rehnberg said.
The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map is based on data from Tuesday, May 5, well before the rains, Rehnberg said. The next update is scheduled for Wednesday night, May 13, or Thursday morning, May 14, he said.
Areas with worst drought conditions
All of southern Cabarrus County, roughly the upper half of Union County and extreme eastern Mecklenburg County are under exceptional drought, the worst of five levels of drought on the map.
All Charlotte-area counties and most of the mountains are under extreme drought, the next worst classification. So are parts of central North Carolina and much of the northern part of the state.
Officials who determine the state’s drought status check such conditions as stream flow, Rehnberg said. “Are they running any higher or are they still just low?” he said. “Has the rain made the soil less dry and dusty?”
The Rock Hill region and all of South Carolina are in severe drought, according to the South Carolina Drought Response Committee.
From September to March, South Carolina got less than half the rain it typically does, making it the driest span between those months on the 131-year record, the South Carolina State Climatology Office recently announced.
Charlotte forecast
Charlotte’s next likeliest chance of showers falls before 10 a.m. Monday, according to the NWS Charlotte forecast. The chance stands at 60%, the forecast shows.
Friday should remain sunny, with an expected high of 71, while Saturday should be partly sunny and Sunday mostly sunny, with respective highs of 77 and 81.
After Monday’s expected rain, skies should remain sunny to mostly sunny through at least Thursday, the forecast showed. Highs should reach 71 on Tuesday, 76 on Wednesday and 77 on Thursday.
Staff Writer John Marks of The Herald contributed.
This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 11:19 AM.