The wet winter this year has many of us asking: is California out of the drought? If only the answer were a simple yes or no, but drought, of course, is more complicated than that. Let’s dig into it.
The current state of drought
The rain and snow storms we’ve had since late December have made a significant dent in California’s current drought, which has spanned the last three years and been the driest period in more than 100 years.
The latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor show that recent storms have freed 17% of the state from drought conditions, with the biggest areas of improvement being the Sierra Nevada mountains, central coast and far northern coast. That’s good news for our water supply, most of which comes from snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The state of drought conditions in California, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Just three months ago, almost the entire state was experiencing severe to exceptional drought. While recent storms have helped ease drought conditions, about half of the state still remains in “moderate to severe” drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Drought conditions were much more severe and widespread before winter storms marched through starting in December.
Snowpack is…
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