Nearly all of Minnesota in some form of drought, extreme drought zone expands

(FOX 9) - Minnesota drought conditions are more widespread and intense than last week as almost the entire state is now experiencing some form of drought.

READ MORE: Some Minnesota farmers feel pressure of dry spell as drought deepens

Minnesota drought persists 

What they're saying:

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Drought Monitor released data showing nearly half of the state is now experiencing severe drought, with pockets of extreme drought expanding.

The extreme drought footprint expanded from 1% of the state to 4% of the state in the past week.

READ MORE: Minnesota drought: Nearly half of state experiencing severe drought

The weekly drought report shows that 45% of Minnesota is currently classified under severe drought, up from 44% the previous week. 

Extreme drought, the second-highest intensity level, quadrupled from 1% of the state to 4% in the latest update. 

Meanwhile, 30% of the state remains in moderate drought, and 17% is abnormally dry, up from 13% last week. 

Overall, virtually no region of the state remains entirely unaffected by drier-than-normal baseline conditions. 

Water your trees 

What you can do:

The Minnesota DNR is also reminding people to water their trees during the drought, saying that this year's summer heat and unpredictable rainfall can stress neighborhood trees. 

Residential trees, the DNR says, often face challenges from compacted soil, limited rooting space, reflected heat from pavement and competition from other vegetation.

State officials add that newly-planted residential trees need 15–25 gallons of water once a week for the first three to five years after the ground thaws in the spring and until the ground freezes again in the fall. 

The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.