SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The latest U.S. Drought Monitor is showing an increase in the Extreme Drought category over parts of California. Drought conditions are predominately evident on the east side of the state ranging from Abnormally Dry to Extreme Drought.
Drought Monitor categories are as follows: Abnormally Dry (D0), Moderate Drought (D1), Severe Drought (D2), Extreme Drought (D3) and Exceptional Drought (D4). There is also the Drought Severity and Coverage Index. This is an experimental method for converting drought levels from the U.S. Drought Monitor map to a single value for an area. DSCI values are part of the U.S. Drought Monitor data tables. Possible values of the DSCI are from 0 to 500. Zero means that none of the area is abnormally dry or in drought, and 500 means that all of the area is in D4, exceptional drought.
The two week comparison shows growing Abnormally Dry, Moderate Drought and Severe Drought. There is also the first appearance of Extreme Drought for the first time since January 10, 2023.
This comes as California ends the dry season and heads into the rainy season.
The 2024-25 Water Year is off to a slow start. The water year runs from October 1 of one year through September 30 of the following. There is still plenty of time to make a dent on the growing deficits. In fact, the wettest time of year typically hits December, January and February.
There is slightly better news for the Sierra with above average snowpack for many areas. This comes with cautious optimism since early season gains can quickly erode with a series of warm storms.
There is a chance of a prolonged period of wet weather next week into the following weekend in California which could help bring up rain and snow totals. This could also help minimize some of the growing dryness in the state.
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