After Crop Damage, Drought-parched North Carolina Sees Rain

A drought report released Tuesday says 17 North Carolina water systems serving hundreds of thousands of residents are near a crisis-level shortage. The lengthy drought has strained North Carolina’s water systems and damaged crops across the state.

An early band of storms is pushing through the heart of drought-stricken North Carolina and forecasters say some areas of the state could see a couple inches of rain.

The National Weather Service says the central part of the state could see two inches of rain over the next four days. That would mark the first significant rainfall in more than a month and the greatest total in several months.

The National Weather Service says warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic is bringing the wet weather.