🔗 Share this article The Golden State is Completely Drought-Free for the First Instance in Two and a Half Decades. After a quarter-century span, not a single part of the state is enduring drought conditions. This landmark event arrives after difficult years marked by below-average rain that intensified blaze threats and strained its massive agricultural sector. An Update Reveals Zero Dryness Thursday's report from the national drought tracker confirmed that California in its entirety is without dry or drought conditions. This change came after multiple significant storms that helped fill key lakes like the state's largest lakes exceeding their long-term norms. “To those aged 25 and below you’ve spent your life in a world where California has been entering or recovering from drought,” remarked a weather expert. After Severe Systems to Rainy Seasons The path to this point featured severe and lethal winter storms that battered the state in recent years, resulting in extensive inundation, electrical failures, and fatalities. While those storms helped ease the drought, they weren't enough to erase it completely. As late as late December, pockets like northeastern California were still classified as experiencing dryness. Substantial precipitation at the beginning of January eliminated those final dry conditions. A Crucial Snowpack Presents a Challenge But, hydrologists note that drought-free conditions is not the same as having no water worries. Recent measurements of the mountain snow accumulation show it at only about 70% of the typical level. This snowpack, which provides about a third of the state's water supply as it melts in the spring, is a key piece for long-term water security. Water officials point out that it is too early to make predictions for the coming year. “What we are observing right now is a higher ratio of rain to snow,” said a hydrology section chief. “We’d like to see the snow accumulation to improve by the start of April so that we’re nearer to normal.” Although the monitor indicates no dryness, the next challenge is to sustaining this precious water balance during the coming seasons.
After a quarter-century span, not a single part of the state is enduring drought conditions. This landmark event arrives after difficult years marked by below-average rain that intensified blaze threats and strained its massive agricultural sector. An Update Reveals Zero Dryness Thursday's report from the national drought tracker confirmed that California in its entirety is without dry or drought conditions. This change came after multiple significant storms that helped fill key lakes like the state's largest lakes exceeding their long-term norms. “To those aged 25 and below you’ve spent your life in a world where California has been entering or recovering from drought,” remarked a weather expert. After Severe Systems to Rainy Seasons The path to this point featured severe and lethal winter storms that battered the state in recent years, resulting in extensive inundation, electrical failures, and fatalities. While those storms helped ease the drought, they weren't enough to erase it completely. As late as late December, pockets like northeastern California were still classified as experiencing dryness. Substantial precipitation at the beginning of January eliminated those final dry conditions. A Crucial Snowpack Presents a Challenge But, hydrologists note that drought-free conditions is not the same as having no water worries. Recent measurements of the mountain snow accumulation show it at only about 70% of the typical level. This snowpack, which provides about a third of the state's water supply as it melts in the spring, is a key piece for long-term water security. Water officials point out that it is too early to make predictions for the coming year. “What we are observing right now is a higher ratio of rain to snow,” said a hydrology section chief. “We’d like to see the snow accumulation to improve by the start of April so that we’re nearer to normal.” Although the monitor indicates no dryness, the next challenge is to sustaining this precious water balance during the coming seasons.