The drought that has gripped the central United States for the past two years is holding on tight, federal forecasters said yesterday.

Almost 59 percent of the contiguous United States is experiencing drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor update, with the worst conditions concentrated in the Great Plains and Western states.

That is not expected to change much over the next three months, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its three-month outlook for February, March and April.

The agency's forecasters say they expect a relatively dry spring in drought-stricken areas, which could cause conditions to stay the same or even worsen in some parts of the central United States.

"Most of the central and southern Plains look like they will continue to have significant drought-related problems," said Anthony Artusa, a meteorologist at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. "The best chance for some relief, at least during the early months of the growing season, is in the Northern Plains and the upper, and perhaps middle, portions of the Mississippi Valley."

That gloomy forecast comes after a wet December, when the national rainfall total was 0.51 inch above average. Precipitation was above normal in much of the country, with the exception of Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri, which were slightly drier than average for December.

December was also unusually warm in much of the eastern half of the country, NOAA said. Twenty states recorded top 10 warmest December temperatures.

The warmth will continue over the next three months, but its nexus will shift from the eastern United States to a broad band stretching from Southern California to Mississippi and up into the central Plains. That area is also likely to be drier than normal.

New England is also in line for unusual warmth, the agency said, while southern Alaska; the Pacific Northwest; and northern Idaho, Montana and North Dakota are likely to be colder than normal.

Federal forecasters predict that the Great Lakes will be wetter than normal.