A version of the following article appeared in the Wednesday, July 15, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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A scorching start to July created low surface levels in ponds and streams
The drought has lowered lake levels so much that the Catawba River’s bottom is visible at the Wilkinson Boulevard bridge in Belmont. (Photo courtesy of Doug Miller)
by Cooper Hall
After nearly a year of dry conditions, Charlotte is now about 7 inches below the average rainfall for this time of year.
“This has been a fairly long, slow-developing drought event, and that also means that we won't get out of this drought overnight,” said Corey Davis, an assistant state climatologist at the North Carolina State Climate Office.
Late June brought increased rainfall, which helped chip away at some of the drought conditions, but much of that progress vanished after the region’s recent wave of extreme temperatures. The heat during the Fourth of July weekend, in which temperatures exceeded 100 degrees on multiple days, created low surface levels in ponds and streams and evaporated soil moisture that had been slowly returning.
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