Although many Valley residents may have found last week’s persistent rain annoying, it already is starting to ease the state's drought conditions.
The Phoenix branch of the National Weather Service is reporting for the first time in five years, no areas of the state are under severe drought.
From just the rainfall last week, much of southern and northeastern Arizona show no drought conditions, while eastern, central and western parts of the state show abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions.
Compared to this time last year, more than 80% of the state was in either moderate to severe drought. Across the greater southwest, about half of the land is covered in snow, while only one third of it was at this time last year.
U.S. Drought Conditions: January 2015 and 2016
Click and drag the slider in the image to see the difference in drought conditions.
