Half of California No Longer Under Drought Conditions

According to new data released by the U.S, Drought Monitor on Thursday, only half the state is currently under drought conditions following the recent storms earlier this week, with no part of the state now at ‘extreme drought’ levels for the first time in over a year.

Since the late 2010’s, California has had megadrought conditions across the state resulting in water restrictions in both urban and agricultural areas, as well as record lows in reservoir levels across the state. In 2022, many predicted an even drier 2023, with even more restrictions coming to help preserve water.

However, in late December, bomb cyclones began to fall on the state and didn’t let up until mid-January. Snowpack levels in the mountains, critical for water stocks later in the year, increased exponentially. Reservoirs started to fill up again. Farms left fallow for the last year or two saw dormant seeds begin to sprout early. When skies finally cleared, snowpack levels across the state stood at an average of 250%, with reservoirs coming back close to normal levels once again. While some restrictions were kept due to water experts not knowing what the rest of the year would bring, the bomb cyclones put California at a good place when it came to battling the drought.

Late last month, another wave of storms brought even more rain, with the LA-area seeing its most significant snowfall since 1989. Snow was found on the Hollywood sign, with San Bernardino County seeing so much that the mountains became inaccessible and major highways like Interstate 5 had to shut down for a time.

Like the bomb cyclones earlier this year, the added precipitation significantly eased the drought conditions that have been prevalent in the state for years. On Thursday, the U.S. Drought Monitor, a joint U.S. Governmental partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found that no parts of the state were under ‘extreme drought conditions’ anymore. In addition, the February storms officially brought about half the state to being classified as having no drought issues or as “abnormally dry.”

Half of California no longer under drought conditions

Reservoirs have seen improvement as well. In January, Lake Shasta stood at 57% of it’s normal levels, with Lake Oroville at 71%. This week, Shasta was at 84%, with Oroville brimming up to 116%. Snowpack also had significant figures. A month before the critical April 1st measuring date, which has historically needed the snowpack to be at 100% to have an adequate amount of melt for the rest of the year, levels across the state varied, with some ranges approaching 300%. Tahoe came in just below 200%. It’s the deepest it has been in decades, with some areas closing in on all time recorded records.

Water experts noted on Friday that the added precipitation would help ease drier conditions likely for this year, and would likely not bring on some of the more drastic water restrictions that have been imposed in recent years.

“We just keep getting water,” explained Jack Wesley, a water systems consultant for farms and multi-family homes, to the Globe on Friday. “No one predicted last year that we would see floods or snow in LA or anything like this. Everyone thought it was just going to be another dry year with bat-tub ringed reservoirs being the norm. But now look where we are.”

“I still think restrictions will be in place to some degree, especially since we know now to better manage water in case of another long stretch of drought, but honestly, that’s a good thing. We’re being more careful and being more strategic on what to use. We have more people questioning the need for environmental water use, such as letting water out solely to help fish populations. We have farmers working on how to best stretch their allotments and use what they have to the best of their ability. We have people in cities not watering every day and being more careful on when they water. We have new sources, such as desalinization plants, being heavily considered as future sources.”

“But, right now, we are looking in good shape for this year. Reservoirs are looking good, groundwater is being recharged, and we have a lot of snow in the mountains. This is going to be a rebound year for sure, especially if we get some more storms in there before summer hits. We’re getting out of the drought. California hasn’t gotten a lot of good news lately, but we finally have some.”

More storms are likely to affect California before the snowpack is measured again on April 1st.