The Department of Environmental Quality says the mountains and the Piedmont are still significantly dry.
DEQ says there was less precipitation this winter than anticipated.
That’s usually a replenishing season for rivers and reservoirs.
But the weather this spring has already started to reverse that trend, according to DEQ spokeswoman Marla Sink.
“Just in the last week, we’ve seen significant precipitation fall in the mountains and the Piedmont, and that is just welcome,” Sink said.
The drought is affecting nearly 40 counties currently under moderate drought conditions.
Seven counties in the mountains are severely dry.
But Sink said drought conditions are still better now than they were last fall after more than a dozen wildfires broke out in the mountains, followed by an unusually dry winter.
“We were concerned a bit because that is usually our replenishing system for our rivers and our reservoirs, but what we’re seeing now in the last week is very, very welcome and has replenished those areas,” Sink said.
The department anticipates a normal amount of rainfall this spring, which should also help drought conditions, Sink said.