Drought Information Statement for For East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Southwest North Carolina Valid May 15, 2026 Issued By: National Weather Service Morristown, TN Contact Information: sr-mrx.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated May 22, 2026 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/MRX/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates. All of the NWS Morristown area remains covered by some drought category with 30% covered by D3. Drought has remained the same in our area, except for slight improvement in the southern Plateau and slight worsening in southwest Virginia 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for For E Tennessee, SW Virginia, and SW North Carolina Drought intensity and Extent D4 (Exceptional Drought): None. D3 (Extreme Drought): Most of southeast Tennessee, and part of the southern Valley and Cumberland Plateau D2 (Severe Drought): Northern Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee mountains, northeast Tennessee, and southwest Virginia D1 (Moderate Drought): Remaining areas of East Tennessee and southwest Virginia D0: (Abnormally Dry): None {{DROUGHT_MONITOR}} Recent Change in Drought Intensity Link to the latest 4-week change map for For E Tennessee, SW Virginia, and SW North Carolina One Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: eastern Washington County, VA No Change: Entire area Drought Improved: Portions of Marion and Sequatchie Counties {{DROUGHT_CHANGE_MAP}} Precipitation Multiple rounds of showers lead to variable precipitation across the region. Most places were generally around or less than 75% of normal for the last 30 days {{PRECIPITATION}} Temperature Temperatures have been well below normal in the last week but still slightly above normal for the last 30 days {{TEMPERATURE}} Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Stream flows are extremely below normal for the entire area. Agricultural Impacts Soil moisture is below the 5th percentile for most of the area Fire Hazard Impacts As we move through the late spring into early summer, fire weather concerns continue to decrease Other Impacts Stay tuned for future updates. Mitigation Actions Please refer to your municipality and/or water provider for mitigation information. Continue to abide by any local burning bans and regulations. Fire Hazard Impacts Latest TN Burn Ban map available here. Latest VA Burn Ban map available here. Latest NC Burn Ban information available here. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. {{FIRE_WEATHER}} Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Chances for rain do not return until mid to late next week with very hot temperatures beforehand Most places are forecast to get 0.25” to 0.50” {{QPF_7_DAY}} Rapid Onset Drought Outlook Links to the latest Climate Prediction Center 8 to 14 day Temperature Outlook and Precipitation Outlook. No strong signal for any hazards in our region {{OUTLOOK_8_14_DAY}} Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Slight signal for below normal temperatures in the month of May. No notable signal with regard to precipitation chances for the month of May. {{OUTLOOK_MONTHLY}} Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Drought conditions are expected to persist across most of the area with some improvements possible along far western areas Links to the latest: Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook {{OUTLOOK_DROUGHT_SEASONAL}}