MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The drought is officially over for nearly all of Minnesota.

The new map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that only about 10 percent of Minnesota remains in drought. Three months ago, 96 percent of the state was in a moderate to severe drought. The remaining pockets of drought include part of the North Shore, some of northwestern Minnesota along the Canadian border and part of south-central Minnesota.

Climatologist Greg Spoden says the data show the drought has broken. He says the recent heavy rain has recharged dry soils, which will be good for agriculture. He says it will still take some time though, for water levels on some larger lakes to rise to normal levels. And he says Minnesota needs continued above-average precipitation to fully catch up.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved)

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