Drought advisories remain in effect for the Chowan and Roanoke river basins, according to the Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force.

Drought warning advisories for the Chowan River Basin include Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Prince George, Southampton, Surry, and Sussex counties and the cities of Emporia and Franklin.

A  drought emergency advisory for the Roanoke River Basin includes the counties of Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Roanoke, and the cities of Danville, Martinsville, Roanoke, and Salem.

The DMTF today recommended de-escalating the drought warning advisory to a drought watch advisory in the Big Sandy drought evaluation region. 

The DMTF considered the following information in its advisory recommendations:

Streamflow improved in the eastern and western regions of the Commonwealth but remained much below normal in Central Virginia to include Roanoke and the upper portions of the James, Shenandoah, and Rappahannock river basins.

Soil moisture in the top layers of soil have improved, but much drier-than-normal soils persist along the Blue Ridge Mountains and in south central Virginia.

Groundwater levels showed small improvements in some eastern and western monitoring wells, however general levels continue to decline across Virginia consistent with normal seasonal patterns.

Reservoir levels across the Commonwealth were all within normal ranges, except for Smith Mountain Lake and John Kerr Reservoir, which remain much below normal for this time of year. 

Precipitation over the past week was substantial ranging from less than 1 to more than 6 inches, with amounts generally increasing from west to east. Longer-term precipitation continues to show severe and expansive deficits, with the 180-day Standardized Precipitation Index blend observation showing large areas of severe and extreme dryness throughout central and southcentral Virginia. 

Except for the Richmond area where normal year-to-date precipitation amounts are present, the rest of the Commonwealth is experiencing deficits ranging from 5.3 inches in Norfolk to 9.4 inches in Danville.

Agricultural producers reported general dry conditions, but noted some improvement in pasture conditions throughout the state due to the widespread rains.

In response to these conditions, Governor Abigail Spanberger is encouraging Virginians to conserve water during this drought.