Nearly one-fifth of Indiana abnormally dry after scant rain

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Weeks of scant rainfall and hot weather have left nearly one-fifth Indiana in the midst of drought conditions.

The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows that about 17 percent of Indiana is now ranked as abnormally dry, which is the lowest drought condition gauged by the monitor.

Indiana's abnormally dry conditions include part of northwestern Indiana and a long strip that begins in the Vincennes area in southwestern Indiana and extends northeast through central Indiana to about the Kokomo area.

The National Weather Service says rain that's expected to arrive over the next week could help green up browned lawns and thirsty crops.

The weather service says that May was the warmest on record in Indianapolis and it tied for the 9th-driest on record.