By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Although several inches of rain have fallen in North Carolina over the last two weeks, nearly all of the state is still in a drought, and much of the Raleigh area remains in an extreme drought, officials say.
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Part of Wake County has received about 300 percent above normal rainfall over the last 30 days
A third of the state is also listed as in an extreme drought, including Wake County, which improved from the “exceptional drought” phase.
Meanwhile, a swath of central North Carolina is listed as exceptional drought — the most serious category.
“While we’ve seen improvement, we still need more rain,” CBS 17 Storm Team Meteorologist Rachel Duensing said.
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The counties in the worst classification are improving slightly.
Below are the Raleigh-area counties in the most serious category and improvements:
- Durham County 34.35% Exceptional (down 22.59% in a week)
- Orange County 64.39% Exceptional (down 4.51% in a week)
- Granville County 46.31% Exceptional (down 30.79% in a week)
- Person County 78.6% Exceptional (no change)
To the south, Cumberland County’s extreme drought areas improved to 43.88 percent — down from 76.9 percent last week.
Duensing said central North Carolina is 6 to 9 inches drier than normal for the year and would need more than 16 inches of rain in a month to end the drought.
“Within the next week, some of us could see more than an inch of rain as tropical moisture could influence our weather,” Duensing said.