Alabama’s drought season worsened last week, expanding drought conditions in the state.

US Drought Monitor It releases a nationwide drought outlook on Thursday each week, and this week’s report shows increasing drought affecting the state — parts of which have received no rain all month.

According to the Drought Monitor, all of Alabama is currently either in or on the brink of drought.

The driest areas are in southwestern and northern Alabama, which are in level 2 of 4 (severe) drought. The state’s percentage in Level 2 drought jumped from 1.99 percent last week to 16.98 percent this week.

Much of the rest of the state is currently in Level 1 (moderate) drought. Last week, 62.87 percent of Alabama was in Level 1 drought, and that rate increased to 72.91 percent this week.

The rest of the state is in what’s called a Level 0 drought or on the brink of drought, according to the report.

there is The promise of much needed rain today and tonightbut only for areas in western and northern Alabama, according to the National Weather Service. The rest of the state is expected to remain rain-free until at least early next week.

But there is hope for more rain on the horizon. NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center’s seven-day precipitation outlook shows the entire state could see at least some rain next week:

After today and Friday, the next best chance for rain is expected to arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday as another cold front approaches.