SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Amongst the extensive damage caused from the extreme wet weather there is one silver lining, drought conditions are beginning to fade statewide. While the drought is by no means over, the state has seen tremendous recovery in the past month.
Climate experts expected a dry winter for California, mainly due to the presence of a triple dip La Niña. However, California has been drenched by atmospheric river after atmospheric river. Conditions have been so snowy in the Sierra that the statewide snowpack surpassed the April 1 average two and a half months ahead of schedule.
The updated drought monitor, released Thursday morning, showed dramatic changes statewide. Last week, exceptional drought conditions were wiped from the state map, and this week, extreme conditions were nearly erased as well, with the only spot still hanging in extreme drought being near the Oregon border. The two week comparison shows just how much improvement has been seen in such a short amount of time.
1/10 12/27 Drought Comp
The rest of the state finds itself in either severe drought, moderate drought or abnormally dry conditions as seen in the northern coast and Southern California desert. The drought score index has dropped a massive 109 points, from 351 to 242, in these two weeks. For reference, the drought score index was 370 in July during the peak of drought and the index hasn't been this low since December 2020.
Thursday offers a short respite from storms before another storm begins on Friday, lasting through the weekend. A few more feet of Sierra snow and 2-3 inches of valley rain are expected through this weekend before yet another system moves in next week. The first real break in the wet weather is likely to come towards the end of next week.
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