Granville, Franklin and Wake counties are all facing moderate drought conditions.
Information provided by the N.C. Department of Agriculture indicates the reporting station in Oxford is at 1.13 inches below normal precipitation so far this year, with Louisburg 4.09 inches below normal and Raleigh 3.55 inches below normal.
Meanwhile, 10 counties, mostly in the eastern part of the state, are under severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor of North Carolina.
Sixty-nine more are considered in moderate drought, according to the weekly report from Tuesday. A week earlier, 57 counties were in moderate drought and there were none reaching the severe level.
Pitt and surrounding counties are the hub of the worst conditions. At the Tar River location in Greenville the National Weather Service measured 0.33 inches in the last seven days as of Wednesday afternoon, the website of the U.S. Geological Survey says. That was from an overnight rain Sunday into Monday that broke the humidity a bit, but not the dry spell.