BOSTON — Through the month of December 2022, the majority of the state experienced drought improvements, and as a result, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper today announced the following drought declarations: the Islands Region will remain at a Level 2-Significant Drought, the Northeast and Cape Cod Regions have been upgraded to a Level 1-Mild Drought, and the Connecticut River Valley Region will join the Western, Central, and Southeast Regions at Level 0-Normal Conditions.

Rain and snow events during the previous month and a half have been well above normal, and conditions are expected to continue to improve through January 2023.

However, for the state to be completely out of the drought, which is a longer-term condition, Massachusetts will need to benefit from sustained rainfall for a few more months before the entire state is within Normal conditions.