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In this file photo from July, water flow in the Genesee River at Avon was 20 percent of normal. The extreme drought continues this week in Upstate New York.

(Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Summer may have ended today, but the extreme drought in Upstate New York continues unchecked.

Ten percent of New York state remains in an extreme drought, unchanged in the past two weeks. That's the highest percentage since the National Drought Mitigation Center began compiling data in 2000.

About 10 percent (area in red) of New York state remains in an extreme drought. Orange denotes severe drought, tan is moderate drought, and yellow is abnormally dry. White areas are normal.

The total area of the state in some level of abnormal dryness or drought virtually unchanged at about 86 percent, according to today's weekly report from the drought center.

The report is based on rainfall through Tuesday.

Some areas of New York received more than 4 inches of rain over the weekend, but that was in the southeastern portion of the state. The extreme drought area encompasses much of Western New York and the Finger Lakes.

The drought is likely to persist through at least the end of the year, the Climate Prediction Center said last week.

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