Despite improvements in the Northeast and in central Texas, over one-third of the contiguous U.S. remains with some type of drought. Conditions worsened in Florida and in the central and northern Plains.

Northeast
Multiple inches of rain occurred in the Northeast, diminishing drought in parts of upstate New York and in southern New England.  Unfortunately, despite sufficient rainfall in the short-term, drought in central Appalachia and Piedmont has evolved into a long-term drought, characterized by monthly streamflow far below the norm. As such, moderate to severe drought remains trapped from the NYC metropolitan area through Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

Southeast
Minor one-category improvements were made following soaking rainfall in the Carolinas and western Florida Panhandle, and the southernmost extent of Appalachia remains drought-free. However, overall monthly precipitation led to expansion of drought in Florida and southeast Georgia.  Almost half of Florida now has Severe (D2) or Extreme (D3) drought. 

South
Several rather large areas in the South saw drought relief this week, mainly in southwest Oklahoma and in central Texas. However, a sharp contrast exists, with Exceptional drought (D4) remaining in southwest Texas, from the Trans-Pecos east into parts of the Hill Country. Another stagnant area of D1-D2 drought is over the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Midwest
Despite enjoying a late winter and early spring pattern that teemed with healthful rain showers, now a drier pattern has developed over the Midwest in May. Abnormal dryness has closed from northern Illinois into the Upper Midwest, where most of the region's moderate drought falls close to the border with High Plains states. A small area of severe (D2) drought remains in the Midland-Bay City area of central Michigan's mitten, while the vast majority of Michigan is now drought-free.

High Plains
Under a primarily dry pattern this week, the High Plains saw mostly stagnation to degradation, although one exception lies in one-category relief to portions of eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota.  Large areas of D1-D3 drought remain across Nebraska and the western parts of South Dakota and North Dakota.  Pockets of drought-free soil are found in eastern North Dakota, northeastern Colorado, and south-central Montana.

West
Although small areas in Arizona and New Mexico saw improvement under above-average monthly precipitation, the rest of the West remained stagnant or regressed. Despite some scattered rain in California and Nevada, this pair of states is entering a climatologically drier part of the year, so any small improvements were withheld. Extreme to exceptional drought remains widespread in the Southwest, with moderate to severe drought gripping much of Southern California, central Nevada, and the Four Corners region. Similar conditions hold over the northern Front Range, where dryness and moderate drought grew this week. Most of the Pacific Northwest is drought-free, while remnants of D0-D1remain along Washington's Cascades.

Looking Ahead (May 6th through May 12th)
Adequate precipitation is expected to chip away at the Northeast's long-term drought this weekend, and a stagnant low-pressure system over the Southeast will bring widespread rain to many areas that are currently in drought.  Above-average precipitation is also expected for much of the U.S. Northern Tier west of the Great Lakes toward the end of this coming week's data collection period. Unfortunately, dry weather is expected until then, with a lack of notable showers and heightened temperatures forecasted to encourage further degradation in the Southwest, southern Plains, Great Lakes, and Lower Midwest.

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Source: U.S. Drought Monitor