Officials issue warnings about severe drought conditions in Northern Virginia

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. - Right now, almost all of Virginia is seeing some drought conditions as extreme heat continues to impact the region and there’s been little rain to bring relief.  

It’s pushed one northern Virginia county into "severe drought" conditions, according to a new report and some residents are concerned.

"All my grass is dead," said Michelle McNaughton, who lives in Middleburg. 

Officials say right now, 100 percent of Loudoun County is in a severe drought causing a lot of risks including health, fire and even water restrictions.

A drought map of Virginia shows that Loudoun and Shenandoah counties are experiencing a severe drought.

"All my grass is dead," said Michelle McNaughton, who lives in Middleburg. 

According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, June was the second-driest June on record – over the past 130 years. The county put out an alert informing residents about the excessive heat in the area, describing it as "dangerously hot conditions."

2024 Summer outlook: Heat, humidity expected through end of season for DC, Maryland, Virginia

Several people FOX 5 spoke with in Loudoun County say they can feel and see it.

"Well it’s supposed to rain over the next couple of days so hopefully it helps out. I know we had some thunderstorms the other night so that was a little scary especially since we are in a drought things are really dry. So, hopefully, we get some more rain," Sterling resident Tonya Williams said. 

According to the National Weather Service, severe drought means that crop loss is likely, fire risk is very high water shortages are common and restrictions can be imposed.

At the moment, there are no water restrictions that we are aware of but leaders with the county say that these types of decisions are being made on a rolling basis.

"I hope everyone is paying attention to their water use, paying attention to where they throw out their trash and what that looks like. I like a little further out in the county so we have to pay attention out there," McNaughton said. 

The Town of Middleburg council is considering some water restrictions but there is nothing official yet.

Now, as for the rest of Virginia, most areas are moderate and not severe.

With these high temperatures, leaders are reminding people to take advantage of cooling centers, be aware of heat-related illness symptoms and, of course, stay hydrated.