Below article from weather.com
By Chris Dolce
May 8 2017 01:00 PM EDT
weather.com
Just 5 percent of the Lower 48 is experiencing drought conditions as of early May.
The change is striking compared to a few years ago when 65 percent of the U.S. was in drought.
Drought coverage in the Lower 48 is at its lowest level in 17 years of records, according to last week’s update of the U.S. Drought Monitor, providing a stunning contrast to the opposite extreme experienced a few years.
About 5 percent of the contiguous United States was in drought as of May 2. Parts of the Southeast, particularly Georgia and Florida, are experiencing the most significant drought conditions, with some locations in the severe to extreme categories.
Last week’s update is striking compared to the largest drought coverage ever analyzed by the Drought Monitor on Sept. 25, 2012. In that week’s update more than four years ago, about 65 percent of the U.S. – particularly the Plains, Midwest and West – was experiencing drought conditions.
Comparison of drought coverage in the United States at its peak on Sept. 25, 2012 versus last week using the U.S. Drought Monitor. Records date back to 2000. (Credit: NDMC/NOAA/USDA)
The 2012 drought at its peaked ranked as the worst since December 1939, according to another scale with a longer period of record known as the Palmer Drought Index. The U.S. Drought Monitor database only extends back to 2000.
A large amount of drought reduction has occurred this winter and spring across the United States.
Entering last winter, about 30 percent of the Lower 48 was experiencing drought as of early December. Above-average precipitation whittled that away during winter and into spring, particularly in the West, but also parts of the Plains, South and Northeast.
NOAA reported on Monday that January-April was the fifth wettest such period on record in the Lower 48 dating to 1895. April by itself ranked as the second wettest on record for the U.S.
Parts of northeast Oklahoma, northern Arkansas, Missouri and downstate Illinois went from experiencing drought conditions at the start of April to a historic flood event in the month’s final days.
A separate heavy rain event vaulted North Carolina to its wettest April on record after beginning the month with 36 percent of the state covered by drought.
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