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The drought continues to sink its teeth deeper into the area according to the latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

According to this week’s data, nearly all of Mower County is now in exceptional drought conditions and anchors a long swath of extreme drought conditions that reaches up through the Twin Cities and into north central Minnesota.

Almost all of Freeborn County is listed in extreme or exceptional drought.

Exceptional drought is the worst classification on the chart, with “extreme” the next level up after that.