The drought that has gripped the country for months on end may be abating slowly, but dry conditions intensified this week in the hardest-hit states.

Conditions in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and the Southeast deteriorated over the past week, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, released this morning. In Nebraska, where more than three-quarters of the state is in exceptional drought -- the worst category -- conditions remained unchanged.

The percentage of the country in moderate drought or worse dipped half a percentage point this week to just under 50 percent. The share of the nation in extreme drought or worse rose slightly, though, to just over 16 percent.