Drought Information Statement for For East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Southwest North Carolina Valid June 26, 2026 Issued By: National Weather Service Morristown, TN Contact Information: sr-mrx.webmaster@noaa.gov This product will be updated June 19, 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. Drought conditions have improved in several places with most of the area in D2 or better Periods of rainfall are expected over the weekend with decreasing chances and increasing heat next week 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for For East Tennessee, SW Virginia, and SW North Carolina Drought intensity and Extent D4 (Exceptional Drought): None. D3 (Extreme Drought): Small portions of of the northern Plateau and southwest North Carolina D2 (Severe Drought): Portions of the Cumberland Plateau, southeast Tennessee, and southwest Virginia D1 (Moderate Drought): Remaining portions of the southern Plateau, west of Knoxville area, and the northern Valley D0: (Abnormally Dry): Around and east of the Knoxville area and Marion County {{DROUGHT_MONITOR}} Recent Change in Drought Intensity Link to the latest 4-week change map for For East Tennessee, SW Virginia, and SW North Carolina One Week Drought Monitor Class Change. 1 Category Improvement: Several places south and west of the Knoxville area, far northeast Tennessee, and much of southwest Virginia No Change: All remaining areas {{DROUGHT_CHANGE_MAP}} Precipitation Rainfall has still been variable across the region but overall closer to normal as some places have been below normal and some above normal {{PRECIPITATION}} Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Stream flows are below normal for most areas. Agricultural Impacts Soil moisture is variable with some locations still below normal and others above normal Fire Hazard Impacts Fire weather concerns remain low because of recent rainfall and greened up vegetation 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 Showers and storms through the weekend with decreasing chances and increasing heat next week The greatest coverage of storms will be Saturday into Saturday evening {{QPF_7_DAY}} Rapid Onset Drought Outlook Links to the latest Climate Prediction Center 8 to 14 day Temperature Outlook and Precipitation Outlook. Extreme heat will continue across much of the U.S. through next weekend {{OUTLOOK_MONTHLY}} Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Above normal rainfall is slightly favored for July Above normal temperatures are also slightly favored for July {{OUTLOOK_MONTHLY}} Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Drought conditions are now expected to improve or be removed across the entire area over the next 3 months Links to the latest: Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook {{OUTLOOK_DROUGHT_SEASONAL}} Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage Drought conditions are expected to persist across the entire area for the rest of June Links to the latest: Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook {{OUTLOOK_DROUGHT_SEASONAL}}