Drought conditions eased in the last week in the High Plains, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map showed Thursday.
Persistent drought has damaged wheat crops that are just starting to be harvested in the southern Plains, but spring rainfall in eastern parts of key states like Kansas has helped crops in those regions. Further rainfall will benefit fewer crops in the region as they reach full maturity and are harvested.
The High Plains region was 69.02% covered by some level of drought as of Tuesday morning, down 3.96 percentage points from a week earlier, the monitor showed, as rainfall improved conditions from South Dakota to Oklahoma.
Only 3.45% of the Midwest was in drought on Tuesday, down 0.11 percentage point from a week earlier, the monitor showed. Unusually wet weather delayed planting of corn crops in the Midwest this spring.
The contiguous U.S. was 44.11% affected by drought, down 0.23 point from a week earlier.
