The drought gripping large swaths of the United States shrank slightly last week, though meteorologists see no end in sight for continued dry conditions.

This week's U.S. Drought Monitor shows 50.7 percent of the country in moderate drought or worse, down from 51.4 percent the preceding week. All other categories of drought also shrank.

Yesterday the Obama administration designated nearly 600 counties as natural disaster areas due to high temperatures and lack of rainfall, making farmers there eligible for low-interest emergency loans (E&ENews PM, Jan. 9).

And Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ranked 2012 as the warmest on record in the lower 48 states (E&ENews PM, Jan. 8).

That same day, the National Climatic Data Center's annual "State of the Climate Drought" reported that 61.8 percent of the contiguous United States was covered in moderate drought during July 2012 -- the greatest since the end of the Dust Bowl.

This week marks the 27th consecutive week that drought has covered more than two-thirds of the domestic cattle inventory and at least 60 percent of domestic hay acreage, according to Department of Agriculture meteorologist Brad Rippey.