The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is warning governors in the West to prepare for continued drought conditions through the end of the year.

The "Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook," prepared by NOAA for the 19-state Western Governors' Association, concluded that the ongoing drought "will persist across most of the West and Great Plains," and that "will likely bring below-average precipitation to the Pacific Northwest, making drought development likely."

The outlook, released today, also notes that the summer of 2012 "ranks as the warmest on record for Wyoming and Colorado."

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R), the WGA's chairman, said in a statement today that the drought outlook is troubling for the West and for his state.

"This document indicates that our state should prepare for continued drought impacts," he said, "especially for the farmers and ranchers who will continue to see a scarcity of rain through the end of the year."

The quarterly outlook released today is part of a partnership between NOAA and WGA, formalized last year in a memorandum of understanding, that is designed to provide Western governors with the most accurate and up-to-date information on "extreme events," from wildfires to flooding.

"The [partnership] itself is more about developing and sharing sound data and information about climate variability. But since the drought was so dramatic this summer, a lot of our work has turned to drought lately," said Carlee Brown, a WGA spokeswoman.

The United States is experiencing the most widespread and severe drought since 1956, and the Agriculture Department this summer declared a disaster for more than 1,000 counties nationwide.

The quarterly outlook combines maps, projections and other products that provide information to decisionmakers about current and likely future weather conditions. Among the features of this release is a recent version of the U.S. Drought Monitor, a map detailing the degree of severity of the drought across the West. Also included are maps that show the summer's major wildfires and the departure from the average temperature from June to August.

"Information contained in the outlook is an excellent resource for our on-the-ground folks who have to be prepared for that all-too uncontrollable factor: weather," Herbert said.

Cause for hope?

Meanwhile, the intractable drought of 2012 incrementally receded this week from last week's record high with 54 percent of the country in moderate or severe drought.

The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows conditions improved in Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Illinois and Missouri, although they worsened in Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas and Nebraska.

A third of the country remains in severe drought or worse, down from 35 percent last week.

Nebraska is the hardest-hit state with exceptional drought now covering 78 percent of the land, up from 73 percent last week.

Oklahoma saw a reduction in extreme drought, down to 80 percent from 95 percent.

Click here to read the NOAA outlook.