RALEIGH, N.C. -- Thursday, state officials will meet to discuss North Carolina’s record-breaking drought.

Officials said the dry-streak has worsened in the western part of the state in recent months as the rest of the state is still suffering from below average rainfall.

State leaders will meet to figure out if the recent rain has done anything to ease the drought. They will also evaluate the climate outlook and decided if any water restrictions should be added.

The Drought Management Advisory Council will meet at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the North Carolina Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

The council said that more than 5.25 million people, or about 78 percent of those who receive water from systems the state tracks, are under voluntary or mandatory water use restrictions.