The Golden State is Completely Drought-Free for the First Time in a Quarter Century.
Following 25 long years, no portion of California is facing dryness. This landmark event arrives after challenging years marked by below-average rain that worsened blaze threats and strained its huge agribusiness.
An Update Indicates No Dryness
Thursday's report from the U.S. Drought Monitor showed that the entire state is free from any level of drought. This shift was driven by weeks of significant storms that helped fill key lakes like Oroville and Shasta exceeding their historic averages.
“If you’re 25 or younger you’ve only known in a world where California has been grappling with drought,” noted a local meteorologist.
After Severe Systems to Wet Holidays
The path to this point featured powerful and fatal winter storms that battered the state in recent years, causing extensive inundation, blackouts, and deaths. Although that weather helped ease the drought, they fell short of ending it.
Until late December, regions like northeastern California were still classified as unusually parched. Substantial precipitation at the start of the new year eliminated those remaining dry spots.
A Crucial Snowpack Is Below Average
But, hydrologists note that drought-free conditions should not be confused with being out of the woods. Current readings of the Sierra Nevada snowpack show it at approximately 70 percent of the historical norm.
This mountain snow, which supplies about a third of the state's water supply as it melts in the spring, is a key piece for the year ahead. Water officials stress that it is not yet time to draw conclusions for the months ahead.
“The current pattern right now is a higher ratio of rain to snow,” commented a California water official. “The goal is the snow accumulation to improve by April 1st so that we’re approaching the typical mark.”
Although the monitor shows a clean slate, the next challenge is to maintaining this precious water balance for the months to come.
