Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi in extreme drought

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Drought conditions have continued to worsen across south Louisiana.

Baton Rouge recorded 5.64 inches of rain before rains this week, WBRZ-TV reported. That compares to 13.13 inches of rain by this week in March.

Rain and thunderstorms storms expected over the next seven days could ease drought conditions.

Extreme drought conditions exist in parts of southern Louisiana, northeast Louisiana and a portion of southwest Mississippi, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday.