RALEIGH, N.C. — Remnants of Hurricane Isaias brought measurable rainfall to North Carolina over the weekend, but much of the state still needs far more rain to end a drought that began in August of 2025.
Greensboro and most of the Piedmont Triad received just 1 to 3 inches of rainfall during that tropical moisture drop. The amount of rain needed to end the drought in a month, before Isaias arrived, was just over 15 inches in the Piedmont Triad, meaning the storm briefly kept conditions from worsening without refilling reservoirs.
Mountain counties saw the heaviest totals. CoCoRaHS observers reported three-day totals of 9.49 inches near Spruce Pine in southern Mitchell County and 9.21 inches at Jonas Ridge in northern Burke County. After 6.05 inches fell in Hendersonville — its wettest event since Helene, and the French Broad River at Blantyre crested in minor flood stage Monday morning.
Piedmont cities also picked up useful rain, including 2.78 inches in Winston-Salem and 2.63 inches in Charlotte. Parts of the Coastal Plain still in Severe or Extreme Drought received less than an inch.
More than 90% of North Carolina is experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions, according to the pre-Isaias Drought Monitor snapshot. The next weekly update is scheduled for Oct. 15 and should show any improvement from the tropical rain.
Forecasters expect quiet, warm and dry weather through much of this week before a cold front late Friday, so additional drought relief may wait until the next organized rainmaker. Mountain gusts during the storm reached 67 mph on Mount Mitchell and 64 mph on Grandfather Mountain, the state climate office reported.
