Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Climate Prediction Center and the National
Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
released their latest predictions Thursday. Currently, 56
percent of the continental U.S. is covered by some form of
drought. That's an improvement from last summer, when the
drought covered two-thirds of the nation. The drought forecast
calls for conditions to improve somewhat in eastern Iowa,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Georgia and South Carolina. But the
February-through-May drought forecast predicts conditions will
worsen overall this spring, NOAA climatologist Dan Collins said.
And below-average precipitation is expected this spring in most
Western states and the southeastern United States. As a result,
the drought is expected to spread from southern California to
cover nearly the entire state. All of Arizona, most of Texas and
most of Florida also are expected to be affected. Texas rancher
Debbie Davis didn't want to hear that the drought