WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A wet winter is significantly easing drought conditions throughout Kansas. Better yet, the Climate Prediction Center outlook for spring in the state remains favorable for more moisture.

That's the word from state climatologist Mary Knapp.

She says that about 45 percent of Kansas remains in some sort of drought designation. At the end of the growing season in October, 80 percent of the state was in drought conditions ranging from abnormally dry to extreme drought.

While the drought may be broken in western Kansas for now, the long-term deficits are still causing low reservoir levels and very low stream flows.

Only one percent of the state is still listed in a severe drought. Those are areas along the Oklahoma border encompassing parts of Cowley, Sumner and Harper counties.