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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Alexandria remains under a state drought warning as officials reported little relief from a persistent dry spell, even as a sweltering stretch pushed heat index values above 100 and forecasters held out the prospect of scattered storms later this week.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, working with the state Drought Monitoring Task Force, continued the existing drought advisories Thursday, citing a lack of frequent and prolonged rainfall across most of the Commonwealth over the past two weeks.
All of Virginia remains in a drought warning except Isle of Wight County and the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach in southeast Virginia, which stay under the less severe drought watch.
The update comes a little more than a week after the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments placed Alexandria and the broader region under a separate regional drought watch, urging nearly six million residents across the District, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia to conserve water voluntarily. That advisory followed a third straight year of dry conditions, record-breaking heat in March and April, and a Potomac River that fell to its lowest level in 130 years of records.
The dryness has been compounded by extreme heat. The National Weather Service placed Alexandria and the surrounding area under a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Thursday, with heat index values expected to reach as high as 105. Forecasters urged residents to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned spaces, limit strenuous outdoor activity and check on relatives and neighbors.
Some relief may be on the way. The weather service forecast a chance of showers and thunderstorms Thursday night, with rain likely Friday afternoon and evening as a high near 97 again pushes the heat index toward 104. Additional chances for showers and storms stretch into early next week, though some could turn severe, with the risk of damaging wind gusts or hail.
A drought warning is meant to raise awareness that a significant drought event is imminent, while a watch is intended to help residents prepare for a potential drought, DEQ said.
The task force weighs four main indicators in setting advisories: precipitation, groundwater levels, streamflow and reservoir levels. Streamflows and soil moisture have continued to decline, with deeper soil moisture and groundwater remaining much below normal, the agency said. Groundwater levels in 13 of the state's 24 monitoring wells sit below the 10th percentile for this time of year.
Long-term groundwater outlooks remain a concern and will require a prolonged period of rainfall to recover, according to DEQ.
Statewide precipitation is running about 7.5 inches below normal for the water year that began Oct. 1, 2025. Without sustained rain, officials said, the drought will worsen as temperatures rise and evapotranspiration increases. Deteriorating conditions could push some localities from warning to emergency status, which could trigger water restrictions.
DEQ and the task force said they are continuing to assess conditions and will provide updates every two weeks for the duration of the drought.
Additional information is available on the DEQ Drought webpage and Drought Dashboard, which includes interactive data on stream gauges, groundwater wells, soil moisture and precipitation.
