The latest Drought Monitor shows significant increases in drought in Virginia and North Carolina with slightly smaller increases in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida this week. Almost no rain fell in the region in the past week, contributing to the expansion of drought. The completely dry conditions are expected to last for another week in most of the area except for Virginia and parts of northern Alabama and Florida, so it is very likely that drought conditions will increase again in next week’s Drought Monitor. The only exception is Puerto Rico, which saw a big improvement in drought conditions this week due to tropical rain.