Drought loosens its grip

North Alabama is still in a drought, but the outlook is improving.

Why it matters: Recent rainy weather has already pushed May past its normal precipitation amounts and eased the pressure, but it's going to take more than a bout of rainy weather to get out of the drought altogether.

The latest: Drought Monitor maps updated yesterday show that most of the region is now in a moderate drought, with much of Central Alabama moving to abnormally dry.

What they're saying: "Basically, the assessment says that yes, there certainly was improvement across the area," Kris White, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Huntsville office, tells Axios.

• Most of the Southeast saw the same improvement.

State of play: Through May 27, Huntsville has received 4.58 inches of rain this month, per NWS, about half an inch higher than normal May totals.

Zoom in: "Believe it or not we do still have rainfall deficits on the longer term," he said.

• While the last month or so has produced higher-than-normal precipitation, the totals over the last two or three months are still below normal levels, White said.
• Much of that rain has come in stormy bursts, meaning a lot of it ends up running off into streams and lakes rather than staying around to replenish deeper soil moisture levels, he added.

Yes, but: There's a lag time to seeing when stream and lake levels return back to a baseline that can be assessed against historical data, likely early next week.

• As of Thursday, the Paint Rock River was running at around the 90th to 95th percentile, or much higher than the historical median 50th percentile, White said.

Catch up quick: Last week, North Alabama was in moderate and severe drought, roughly unchanged from the week prior, per drought.gov.

What we're watching: Expect more rain. Forecasts call for an 80% chance of rain this evening, 90% tomorrow and 30%-60% Sunday.

• If you'll be stuck inside, check out our guide on what to stream this weekend.