(RALEIGH) -- The string of sweltering heat continues across North Carolina, with highs reaching the 90-degree mark every day this week. Jeff Orrock of the National Weather Service says the weather has gone to extremes.

"The weather patterns have been very amplified this past spring, and they really have been slow to move. They almost are what we call blocking patterns, where the weather pattern will lock in and stay that way for a week or two and then it'll gradually change and they'll be in the other side of the extreme. That's been a little bit different this spring," he said.

Over the past week, the number of countries experiencing moderate drought conditions jumped from 20 to 31.