Drought improves, South to be saturated this weekend

ATLANTA - Experts say there is some improvement in the drought across the Southeast

The latest federal assessment says more than a quarter of the Southeast is drought-free as of Thursday.

But more than 25 million people are still affected.

In Georgia, the National Weather Service says central Georgia, in particular, has seen conditions improve.

Parts of the drought-parched South are under flood watches and warnings with forecasters saying as much as 10 inches of rain could fall.

The National Weather Service says an advancing cold front will collide with a weather disturbance that became a tropical depression early Friday in the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters say coastal Louisiana could receive as much as 10 inches of rain Friday and Saturday; 6 inches was possible across a wide section of Mississippi.

Rainfall totals ranging from 1 to 4 inches are possible from Alabama to South Carolina.