To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

RALEIGH – Six more counties are now considered abnormally dry, according to this week's US Drought Monitor of North Carolina.

“Despite the rain that we had a few weeks ago, it's been dry since and warm since, we've seen some abnormally dry conditions try to creep back in,” Ryan Boyles, the state climatologist, said.

A total of 68 counties are now under a drought advisory. Only Northampton County is under a severe drought advisory, 12 counties are in a moderate drought advisory and 55 counties are abnormally dry. Those counties including Dare, Hyde and Carteret, which could see some rain from Hurricane Earl.

“Tropical storms contributes sometimes upwards as much as 15 to 20-percent of our summertime totals, so when we don't have those tropical storms coming through sometimes we get a little dry and certainly this is the case so far this year,” Boyles said.

It's affected the state's rainfall totals for the year. RDU, Wilmington and Charlotte levels are all below the normal average, while Greensboro is a little above.

“As we head into the fall, of course, water use goes down, agriculture water use goes down,” Boyles said. “There's not as much need as the crops start to come from the ground, so hopefully, we'll have weathered this dry period and very hot conditions that we've had this summer fairly successfully.”

While there aren't any water restrictions at this time, you're always encouraged to conserve water.

“You should take showers instead of baths, turn the water off when your brushing your teeth or washing dishes and fix leaky faucets, showers and toilets,” Sarah Young, of the North Carolina Division of Water Resources, said.

Residents can also use water wisely outdoors by watering plants during the day and collecting and recycling rain water.

While experts keep a watchful eye, there haven't been any impacts to the water supply.

“We will be watching what happens this winter to see if we're prime for any drought conditions come next summer,” Boyles said.