The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday showed small improvements, with eastern Arkansas becoming a little less dry.
The Drought Monitor map, which reflects conditions until 7 a.m. Tuesday from the previous Tuesday, shows southern Lee County moving from moderate drought into the "abnormally dry" classification, which denotes a rain deficit of 1 to 2 inches over a 30-day period.
The rain that has fallen since 7 a.m. Tuesday will be taken into account in next Thursday's Drought Monitor, National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist John Robinson said in an email.
This time last year, 93.5 percent of Arkansas was deemed "abnormally dry," compared with 45.7 percent this week.