Published October 23, 2026 at 2:20 PM EDT

More of Southwest Virginia, including all of the New River Valley, is now out of drought watch status.

That’s according to the latest update from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

There are improvements in other parts of the state as well. The Southern Shenandoah Valley and the Alleghany Highlands have improved to drought watch status in the new update.

Stream flow levels were near normal for much of the state, and while the last week has seen lower than normal amounts of precipitation for many across Virginia, the last 30 days was higher-than-normal — helping the overall situation for many.

However, a drought emergency remains for the Roanoke River monitoring area, which includes Salem, Roanoke, Danville and Martinsville.

Despite that, the department says it has received no new reports of immediate drought-related impacts from agricultural producers this week.