CORRECTED NEWS RELEASE: Drought Update

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality sent this bulletin at 07/31/2026 10:38 AM EDT

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DEQ.Virginia.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2026

CONTACT: Irina Calos
(804) 659-1333
irina.calos@deq.virginia.gov

DROUGHT UPDATE

Drought warning lifted in Big Sandy region, other drought advisories continued

Drought Advisory update from July 15 to July 31

CORRECTION: Shenandoah, Upper James, and York-James regions added to drought warning advisories continued.

Richmond, Va. – Due to recent rainfall, the Drought Monitoring Task Force (DMTF) has recommended de-escalating the drought warning advisory to a drought watch advisory in the Big Sandy drought evaluation region. The Big Sandy drought region contains Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, and Wise counties and the cities of Bristol and Norton.

The recent rain has prevented drought conditions from worsening, although severe drought continues in many parts of Virginia, including the Roanoke River drought evaluation region.
The remaining advisory statuses were maintained as follows:

A drought emergency advisory for:

Roanoke River: Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Roanoke counties and the cities of Danville, Martinsville, Roanoke, and Salem

Drought warning advisories for:

Chowan: Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Prince George, Southampton, Surry, and Sussex counties and the cities of Emporia and Franklin
Eastern Shore: Accomack and Northampton counties
Middle James: Albemarle, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Buckingham, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Nelson, Powhatan, Prince Edward counties and the cities of Charlottesville, Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Lynchburg, Petersburg, and Richmond
New River: Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Wythe counties and the cities of Galax, and Radford
Northern Coastal Plain: Caroline, Essex, Gloucester, King George, King William, King and Queen, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland counties
Northern Piedmont: Culpeper, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, and Stafford counties and the City of Fredericksburg
Northern Virginia: Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park
Shenandoah: Augusta, Clarke, Frederick, Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren counties and the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester
Upper James: Alleghany, Bath, Botetourt, Craig, Highland, and Rockbridge counties and the cities of Buena Vista, Covington, and Lexington
York-James: Charles City, James City, New Kent, York counties and the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg

And a drought watch advisory for:

Southeast Virginia: Isle of Wight County and the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach

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 Spanberger is encouraging Virginians to conserve water during this drought.

The seven-day forecast calls for slightly above average temperatures with predicted rainfall totals of 0.25 to 0.75 inches for the Roanoke and Shenandoah Basins and greater than one inch over the remainder of the state. The DMTF will meet again on Aug. 4. 

Additional information on the current drought status is available on the DEQ drought webpage and Drought Dashboard, which includes interactive data on stream gages, groundwater wells, soil moisture, and precipitation.

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The Department of Environmental Quality protects and enhances Virginia's environment and promotes the health and well being of the citizens of the Commonwealth. We are committed to cleaner water, improved air quality, and the productive re-use of contaminated land.

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