The U.S. Drought Monitor calculates the severity of drought on a scale from 0 to 500, where 0 would indicate a drought-free state and 500 would mean the entire state is under the most severe category of drought.
Last October, the current drought in Oklahoma hit its peak at 412 on that drought severity index. But this week, the state dropped below 100 on that scale for the first time in over a year.
That’s likely thanks to recent rains — the past month has been wetter than normal for this time of year across most of the state, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet.
Still, about half a million Oklahomans remain in a drought. The most severe drought is in Northern and Southwestern Oklahoma.
The U.S. Drought Monitor releases a new report every Thursday.
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