Drought conditions got a little bit better over the past week in Alabama, but most of the state is still drier than it should be.

That’s according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which released its weekly report on drought conditions nationwide on Thursday.

Most of Alabama remained in some form of drought, but the less of the state was in Level 3 (out of 4) drought compared with last week. And more of the state — now nearly 10 percent — was classified as not in drought at all this week.

The driest areas in the state continue to be in parts of north and central Alabama.

Alabama got a little rain over the past seven days — and some severe storms and tornadoes as well. However, the National Weather Service estimated some areas got 1 to 2 inches of rain from Thursday through Sunday.

This week’s Drought Monitor report said:

* 14.32 percent of Alabama is in Level 3 out of 4 (extreme) drought, down from 25.72 percent last week.

* 46.39 percent of Alabama is in Level 2 (severe) drought, down from 47.41 percent last week.

* 65.90 percent of Alabama is in Level 1 (moderate) drought, down from 79.95 percent last week.

* 90.20 percent of Alabama is considered abnormally dry (Level 0), down from 99.16 percent last week.

* 9.80 percent of Alabama is now not in drought, an increase from 0.84 percent last week.

There is a chance Alabama will see some more rain by the end of this week, though it’s uncertain how much.

The weather service will be watching the evolution of an area of low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico. That system is expected to bring a lot of rain to parts of Florida. Alabama will have to wait to see the track of the low to determine if it gets any rain.

Right now south and east Alabama could see the most rain.

The weather service in Tallahassee, Fla., was forecasting 2-3 inches of rain for the southeast corner of the state, which will be closest to to track of the low pressure system.

The weather service in Mobile was speculating that areas closer to the coast in Alabama could see anywhere from a half-inch to 1.5 inches through the weekend. The rest of Alabama won’t see as much.

The seven-day precipitation outlook from NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center suggests eastern Alabama will be the winner in the rainfall category over the weekend:

That much rain could keep drought conditions from creeping back upward, but won’t get rid of them, either.

Another period of dry weather is expected to begin next week.

The next U.S. Drought Monitor report will be released Thursday, Dec. 21.