The U.S. Drought Monitor released May 12 shows some minor improvement in California drought conditions and the removal of the short-term drought designation.

But the seasonal outlook shows drought persisting through the dry season as California’s drought continues for a fifth consecutive year. “Based upon recent conditions and discussions that started last week, areas of D2 (severe) and D3 (extreme) were improved over southern Nevada and southern California,” according to weekly report. “For all of the West, the indicator type was changed to “L” (long-term drought) as the areas of short-term impacts have improved enough to remove that designation.