More than half of USA in a drought

Doyle Rice | USA TODAY

Drought covers more than half of the country and is at its largest percentage since early April, according to this week's U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly federal website.

As of Tuesday, 50.7% of the contiguous USA is in a drought.

Hot, dry weather over the past week led to worsening drought in the central USA: In the Midwest, where temperatures have been as much as 10 degrees above normal over the past week, drought expanded in parts of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to the monitor.

For example, since July 1, La Crosse, Wis., has received only 2.4 inches of rain, the driest July 1-Sept. 10 period on record for that location.

The West is also dry: "More than three-quarters of the western United States remains in moderate drought or worse," says Anthony Artusa, a meteorologist with the Climate Prediction Center and author of this week's monitor.

Every state west of the Mississippi River is experiencing some level of drought conditions, including both Alaska and Hawaii.

Slightly more than 97% of California is in a drought, where the dryness is at record levels: This year, California is having its driest year on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

In the South, drought expanded or intensified this week in parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.