u.s. drought monitor

There is little change in this week's drought update.

The drought conditions continued to get worse in Minnesota over the past week.

The weekly update from the U.S. Drought Monitor says 42 percent of the state is now in an 'extreme' drought. That is up from 35 percent last week.

With little rain over the past seven days across the state the drought conditions continue to get worse.

The drought has gotten worse over the past week in Minnesota.

Recent rain didn't help the drought situation in Minnesota.

This week's map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 75 percent of the state of Minnesota is now in a moderate drought. A moderate drought means river and lake levels are lower than normal.

Despite all of our recent rains the U.S. Drought Monitor says much of Minnesota is still in a drought. The northern parts of Stearns and Benton counties, and a large area north of us are listed as in a "moderate drought".

New data are showing the first major improvement in Minnesota's drought situation since last fall. An updated map from the U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday rates two-thirds of Minnesota as still being in drought.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows conditions have grown slightly worse in Iowa and Nebraska, where much of the nation's corn is grown. The map shows the northwest corner of Iowa is now enduring an extreme drought, as are the east-central portion of the state and a section of southeast Iowa.