Rainfall has helped to reduce drought conditions in some places but it wasn’t enough in other areas. The U.S. Drought Monitor map was released Thursday morning, is based on data as of Tuesday before the significant rains of Tuesday night.
According to the latest map, all or parts of a dozen counties continue to have the greatest degree of drought. Exceptional drought conditions prevailed in Grundy, Sullivan, Livingston, Daviess, and Caldwell counties of the Green Hills Region. Others included in D-4, or exceptional drought, include Carroll, Clinton, DeKalb, Gentry, Clay, Platte, and Cooper counties. Many of the surrounding areas have the D-3 or extreme drought conditions.
The report notes 83 percent of the state is covered by drought conditions ranging from abnormal up to exceptional. That compares to 88 percent last week.
The higher categories for severe, extreme and exceptional drought collectively account for 37 percent of the state. It was nearly 40 percent one week ago.