U.S. Drought Retreats 15 Percent in One Year

The area of the contiguous U.S. under extreme and exceptional drought conditions — the most severe categories of drought — has dropped to about 9.9 percent from 16.7 percent a year ago.

Thanks to the cold, snowy winter throughout much of the Midwest and eastern U.S., the driest conditions have mostly shifted in the last year from concentrating in the northern Great Plains to ravaging bone-dry California, a state unlikely to see long-term relief from drought anytime soon.

U.S. Drought Retreats 15 Percent in One Year