The latest drought monitor has been updated and all of Louisiana is currently in a level of drought.

Severe drought conditions are now over taking southern Louisiana including portions of metro Baton Rouge. Under a severe drought - grass stops growing, trees are stressed and creeks and bayous are low.

Along and east of I-55, drought conditions become less severe, especially after the heavy rains we had last week.

So far in 2022, the airport in Baton Rouge has picked up just above 3 inches of rainfall. On average, by this point in the year, we would have picked up over 7.86 inches of rainfall.

We are currently in a La Niña winter, which typically leads to a mild and dry weather pattern across the southeast United States. The jet stream sets up across the central United States, keeping the majority of the precipitation and colder temperatures farther north.