UNDATED (WHBL) - There’s a silver lining in Wisconsin’s long, snowy winter – the state’s intense drought conditions are finally starting to ease up. The U-S Drought Monitor says 77-percent of the state’s land area is abnormally dry or worse. That’s down by seven-percent a week ago. Almost a quarter of Wisconsin is no longer in drought – mostly in eastern and south central areas, along with a small patch in the far southwest. All of Milwaukee County has finally escaped the drought, along with Madison and the Wisconsin Dells area. But 21-percent of the state remains in a severe drought in far west and northwest regions. Much of Wisconsin had snow and/or freezing rain on most days in March. But that’s eased up for now. Clear to partly cloudy skies are expected statewide through most of the weekend. The Wisconsin-Illinois border could get light snow on Sunday, and lake effect snow could return early next week close to Lake Superior in the far north.