
Drought Persists Across Much Of The U.S.
Drought conditions expanded again this week, with more than 100 million people now living in areas experiencing drought.
# SUMMARY -------------------- THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 654 IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN NORTH CAROLINA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 5 COUNTIES IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA GREENE MARTIN PITT TYRRELL WASHINGTON THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF BETHEL, COLUMBIA, CRESWELL, FARMVILLE, GREENVILLE, GRIFTON, GRIMESLAND, GUM NECK, HOOKERTON, JAMESVILLE, OAK CITY, PLYMOUTH, ROBERSONVILLE, ROPER, SNOW HILL, WALSTONBURG, AND WILLIAMSTON. # DETAILS -------------------- ISSUED AT Friday, September 4, 2026 at 2:54 PM EDT ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC HEADER WATCH COUNTY NOTIFICATION FOR WATCH 654
# HEADLINE -------------------- HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING # DETAILS -------------------- WHAT Heat index values up to 109 expected. WHERE Mainland Dare, Martin, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties, and Northern Outer Banks. WHEN Until 8 PM EDT this evening. IMPACTS Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses. ISSUED AT Friday, September 4, 2026 at 2:06 PM EDT ISSUED BY National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC HEADER URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE # PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS -------------------- Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. # AREAS AFFECTED -------------------- Mainland Dare, Martin, Northern Outer Banks, Tyrrell, Washington Including the cities of Columbia, Robersonville, Williamston, Roper, Jamesville, Manns Harbor, East Lake, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Manteo, Plymouth, Kill Devil Hills, Gum Neck, Nags Head, Stumpy Point, Duck, Creswell, and Oak City
Closest strike: 3.26 miles Stay Alert! Remain in a safe area until there has been no lightning within 10 miles of this location for 30 minutes. Please be aware that lightning activity can remain high even when a storm is moving away from your location. Even if rain has stopped, do not leave your safe area until WeatherBug indicates that lightning is more than 10 miles away from this selected location. IF OUTDOORS Avoid water, high ground, and open spaces. Avoid all metal objects including electric wires, fences, and machinery. Find a safe area in a building or in a fully enclosed vehicle with the windows completely shut. Unsafe places include underneath canopies, small picnic or rain shelters, convertibles, or near trees. IF INDOORS Avoid water and stay away from doors and windows. Avoid using a hard line telephone. Take off headphones. Turn off, unplug, and stay away from appliances, computers, power tools, and TV sets. Lightning may strike exterior electric and phone lines, inducing shocks to inside equipment.
There is a Slight Severe Storm Risk for your location. Continue reading for today's outlook from the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. -------------------- National Severe Storm Outlook THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES INTO THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES SUMMARY A couple of organized thunderstorm clusters are expected to develop across the southern Great Lakes and mid/upper Ohio Valley through tonight, accompanied by the risk for damaging wind gusts. More widely scattered strong thunderstorms east of the Blue Ridge may also produce damaging wind gusts this evening. 20Z Update The northern portion of the Marginal Risk was expanded westward into portions of northeastern Iowa to account for recent convective development associated with a mid-level perturbation visible on water vapor satellite imagery. An unstable airmass and modest deep-layer shear will support loosely organized convection, capable of producing isolated occurrences of 60 MPH winds and 1-inch hail. Elsewhere, the western portion of the Slight Risk area was expanded across Illinois, Indiana, and portions of Ohio, where thunderstorms have developed along a surface boundary and may pose an increased threat for 55-70 MPH wind gusts and 1-inch hail. See MCDs #2234 and #2235 for more detail. Further downstream across North Carolina, the severe wind probabilities were extended southward to account for recent convective trends. A corridor of higher wind probabilities was considered across portions of Virginia, but uncertainty in the longevity of the convection moving across the Appalachians and overall convective organization precluded adding additional highlights at this time. The 30% wind threat area is expected to see convective development later this evening, as storms move from the Great Lakes into the region. There is some uncertainty in the northward extent of the area owing to the drop off in buoyancy, but continued spread in the high-resolution forecast guidance regarding the timing and placement of convection precludes additional adjustments at this time. Convection is also anticipated to develop across portions of north-central Nebraska into South Dakota during the early morning hours. These storms could produce isolated occurrences of hail, though uncertainty in the timing of convective initiation and maturation suggests this will primarily pose a threat in the Day 2 time frame.











