🔗 Share this article The Golden State is Fully Drought-Free for the First Instance in Two and a Half Decades. After a quarter-century span, not a single part of California is experiencing drought conditions. This landmark event arrives after challenging years marked by below-average rain that exacerbated blaze threats and challenged its huge agribusiness. An Update Indicates No Dryness Thursday's report from the U.S. Drought Monitor confirmed that all of California is clear of any level of drought. This shift resulted from weeks of significant storms that replenished key lakes like the state's largest lakes well above their historic averages. “To those aged 25 and below you’ve only known in a world where California has been entering or recovering from drought,” remarked a local meteorologist. After Severe Systems to Rainy Seasons The journey here featured intense and deadly winter storms that pummeled the state in the not-too-distant past, causing widespread flooding, blackouts, and fatalities. Even though those events began to alleviate the drought, they fell short of ending it. Even into late December, areas like the state's northeast corner were deemed experiencing dryness. Substantial precipitation at the start of the new year finally erased those last vestiges of dryness. Essential Mountain Snowfall Presents a Challenge However, hydrologists note that the end of drought status does not mean having no water worries. Latest data of the Sierra Nevada snowpack indicate it is roughly seven-tenths of the average for this date. This snowpack, which supplies approximately 30% of the state's usable water as it runs off, is an essential component for long-term water security. Hydrology managers point out that it is premature to make predictions for the annual water supply. “The current pattern right now is a higher ratio of rain to snow,” commented a state water resources manager. “We’d like to see the snow accumulation to pick up by April 1st so that we’re approaching the typical mark.” While the drought map shows a clean slate, attention turns to preserving this hard-won hydrological health throughout the rest of the year.
After a quarter-century span, not a single part of California is experiencing drought conditions. This landmark event arrives after challenging years marked by below-average rain that exacerbated blaze threats and challenged its huge agribusiness. An Update Indicates No Dryness Thursday's report from the U.S. Drought Monitor confirmed that all of California is clear of any level of drought. This shift resulted from weeks of significant storms that replenished key lakes like the state's largest lakes well above their historic averages. “To those aged 25 and below you’ve only known in a world where California has been entering or recovering from drought,” remarked a local meteorologist. After Severe Systems to Rainy Seasons The journey here featured intense and deadly winter storms that pummeled the state in the not-too-distant past, causing widespread flooding, blackouts, and fatalities. Even though those events began to alleviate the drought, they fell short of ending it. Even into late December, areas like the state's northeast corner were deemed experiencing dryness. Substantial precipitation at the start of the new year finally erased those last vestiges of dryness. Essential Mountain Snowfall Presents a Challenge However, hydrologists note that the end of drought status does not mean having no water worries. Latest data of the Sierra Nevada snowpack indicate it is roughly seven-tenths of the average for this date. This snowpack, which supplies approximately 30% of the state's usable water as it runs off, is an essential component for long-term water security. Hydrology managers point out that it is premature to make predictions for the annual water supply. “The current pattern right now is a higher ratio of rain to snow,” commented a state water resources manager. “We’d like to see the snow accumulation to pick up by April 1st so that we’re approaching the typical mark.” While the drought map shows a clean slate, attention turns to preserving this hard-won hydrological health throughout the rest of the year.