Virginia drought eases as extreme and severe categories hit new lows

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia's historic drought is showing its most significant signs of improvement in months, with the extreme and severe drought categories dropping sharply, and 10% of the state now out of drought status entirely.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday and based on conditions through 8 a.m. Tuesday, shows 18% of the state is in the very dry category, 42% is in moderate drought, 21% is in severe drought, and 8% is in extreme drought.

In last week's figures, 17% of Virginia was in the very dry category, 36% in moderate, 34% in severe, and 12% in extreme.

Severe drought dropped by 13 percentage points, and extreme drought fell by 4 points. Much of that improvement was absorbed into the moderate and very dry categories.

(WTVR)

One area of particular note for local viewers: a pocket southeast of Richmond has moved out of drought status entirely, joining the 10% of the state that is now drought-free.

(WTVR)

Despite the encouraging trend, drought conditions persist across much of the Commonwealth. Extreme drought remains in isolated pockets near Charlottesville, south of Farmville, and near Danville. The Roanoke region, which reached emergency drought status earlier this month, remains in severe drought.

Virginia is still experiencing its second driest water year on record, with statewide precipitation running approximately 7.8 inches below normal for the water year that began Oct. 1, 2025. Officials have previously warned that 8 to 12 inches of rainfall over 30 days would be needed to eliminate much of the drought, and a single rain event will not be enough to end it.

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Roanoke region still in emergency status

The Roanoke region — which includes Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Roanoke counties, and the cities of Danville, Martinsville, Roanoke, and Salem — reached drought emergency status after Virginia's Drought Monitoring Task Force recommended the designation on July 7.

Governor Abigail Spanberger held a news conference at Smith Mountain Lake last week, warning that a drought emergency executive order remains possible if conditions do not improve.

"As governor, I do not want to put an executive order in place. I do not want us to need mandatory practices to conserve water," Spanberger said. "But we are constantly in that reevaluation phase of when do we hit true, true emergency where we do need to take that extra step."

Smith Mountain Lake remains 5.5 feet below normal levels. Groundwater wells in the region continue to set provisional record daily low water levels, and the Virginia Department of Health has reported an uptick in well applications to replace wells that are going dry.

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Mandatory restrictions still in place

Twenty-nine community water systems continue to have mandatory conservation measures in place across Caroline, Fauquier, Louisa, Orange, Powhatan, and Shenandoah counties.

Richmond issued its first voluntary water conservation advisory since 2002 on July 1, as the James River continued to run below normal levels. Richmond's water treatment plant supplies water to Richmond, Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, Goochland, and Powhatan.

Without continued above-normal rainfall, officials warn drought conditions could worsen again as summer heat continues to drive evaporation rates. The Drought Monitoring Task Force, which has been meeting weekly given the severity of conditions, will continue to monitor the situation closely.

NEWS CONFERENCE: Roanoke region reaches drought emergency as Virginia drought deepens

What residents can do

Officials say water conservation should remain an everyday practice at home and at work, even as conditions improve. Suggested steps include:

• Shorten showers
• Turn off faucets while brushing teeth or shaving
• Run full loads of dishes and laundry
• Disable automatic lawn sprinklers
• Water lawns less frequently, only between dusk and dawn
• Wash cars less often
• If on a private well with low or no flow pressure, contact your local health department