The ongoing drought continued to worsen in Alabama in the past week.

Exceptional drought, or Level 4 out of 4, has now taken hold in part of northeast Alabama, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report.

It’s the first time any part of Alabama has been in Level 4 drought since Dec. 27, 2016.

The Drought Monitor looks at drought conditions across the U.S. and releases a weekly report, which is compiled on Tuesdays and issued on Thursdays.

This week’s Drought Monitor Report shows exceptional drought — the worst of the worst drought — in parts of DeKalb, Jackson and Cherokee counties.

The next-worst category is extreme drought, or Level 3 out of 4, and it has also expanded in the past week to include nearly all of north Alabama, parts of north-central Alabama and south Alabama. The latest report shows 37.54 percent of Alabama was in extreme drought, an increase from 28.70 percent last week.

There was a big expansion of areas in severe drought, Level 2, in the past week. According to the report 78.57 percent of Alabama is now in severe drought, an increase from 58.37 percent last week.

Almost all of the rest of the state, 98.52 percent, is moderate drought, or Level 1 out of 4. That’s up from 95.39 percent next week.

Less than 1 percent (0.44 percent to be exact) of the state is not considered to be in drought.

Alabama’s drought is drying up pasture land, hampering fall planting, spurring many wildfires, withering lawns and gardens and increasing water bills throughout the state. And its impacts to agriculture could linger into the spring and summer for farmers.

The current drought, if it continues, is spurring comparisons to the 2016 drought, which is also remembered because of the Gatlinburg wildfires.

There is a little relief coming in the next few days in the form of rain showers. The National Weather Service is forecasting an inch of rain for some parts of the state in the next few days. And there is an outside chance of more rain next week. Below is the three-day precipitation outlook:

Forecasters acknowledged that the rain, while helpful, won’t end the drought.

The precipitation outlook looking into the future has a glimmer of hope for more rain. This is the eight- to 14-day precipitation outlook from the Climate Prediction Center, and it shows slightly increased probabilities of above-average rainfall for Alabama from Nov. 16-22.

The next U.S. Drought Monitor report will be released Nov. 16.