🔗 Share this article The Golden State is Entirely Free of Drought for the First Instance in 25 Years. After a quarter-century span, no portion of the state is enduring dryness. This significant achievement arrives after grueling years marked by insufficient rainfall that intensified wildfire risks and strained its massive agricultural sector. An Update Indicates No Abnormally Dry Areas The latest assessment from the federal monitoring program showed that all of California is without drought or abnormal dryness. This shift came after a period of significant storms that helped fill major reservoirs like Shasta and Oroville well above their typical levels. “For anyone 25 or under you’ve spent your life in a world where California has been entering or recovering from drought,” noted a weather expert. From Intense Storms to Wet Holidays The path to this point featured intense and deadly winter storms that struck the state in the not-too-distant past, resulting in extensive inundation, blackouts, and tragic losses. Even though those events began to alleviate the drought, they fell short of ending it. Until late December, pockets like the state's northeast corner were still classified as abnormally dry. Substantial precipitation at the start of the new year finally erased those remaining dry spots. The Vital Sierra Snow Presents a Challenge Yet, hydrologists note that the end of drought status should not be confused with being out of the woods. Current readings of the mountain snow accumulation place it at roughly seven-tenths of the average for this date. This snowpack, which supplies a significant portion of the state's usable water as it thaws later in the year, is a critical factor for future water availability. State experts point out that it is not yet time to determine the outlook for the coming year. “What we are observing right now is a higher ratio of rain to snow,” said a hydrology section chief. “Our hope is for the snow accumulation to pick up by 1 April so that we’re nearer to normal.” Even as the official status is entirely green, attention turns to preserving this positive water situation for the rest of the year.
After a quarter-century span, no portion of the state is enduring dryness. This significant achievement arrives after grueling years marked by insufficient rainfall that intensified wildfire risks and strained its massive agricultural sector. An Update Indicates No Abnormally Dry Areas The latest assessment from the federal monitoring program showed that all of California is without drought or abnormal dryness. This shift came after a period of significant storms that helped fill major reservoirs like Shasta and Oroville well above their typical levels. “For anyone 25 or under you’ve spent your life in a world where California has been entering or recovering from drought,” noted a weather expert. From Intense Storms to Wet Holidays The path to this point featured intense and deadly winter storms that struck the state in the not-too-distant past, resulting in extensive inundation, blackouts, and tragic losses. Even though those events began to alleviate the drought, they fell short of ending it. Until late December, pockets like the state's northeast corner were still classified as abnormally dry. Substantial precipitation at the start of the new year finally erased those remaining dry spots. The Vital Sierra Snow Presents a Challenge Yet, hydrologists note that the end of drought status should not be confused with being out of the woods. Current readings of the mountain snow accumulation place it at roughly seven-tenths of the average for this date. This snowpack, which supplies a significant portion of the state's usable water as it thaws later in the year, is a critical factor for future water availability. State experts point out that it is not yet time to determine the outlook for the coming year. “What we are observing right now is a higher ratio of rain to snow,” said a hydrology section chief. “Our hope is for the snow accumulation to pick up by 1 April so that we’re nearer to normal.” Even as the official status is entirely green, attention turns to preserving this positive water situation for the rest of the year.