Much of the state remains under an exceptional drought, despite some areas of Eastern Carolina getting a couple of inches of rain in January. The latest map came out today from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The map shows 70 of the state's 100 counties are in the worst drought category, and 22 are in the second worst--an extreme drought.

Just eight coastal counties are in the severe drought category. Those include Camden, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, Pasquotank and Tyrell counties.