California Drought Disappears as Rest of the West Remains Dry

In an unusual reversal of fortune, California is the only state in the U.S. that is starting the year without any patches of drought or abnormally dry conditions. This is a dramatic change from the most recent years, when the Golden State was often one of the driest regions in the country. What is the reason for the reversal in the drought conditions, and how is the rest of the western U.S. faring? Read on for all of the details.

Onslaught of Storms Gives California Reprieve from Drought

A parade of atmospheric rivers has dumped copious amounts of moisture across California over the last several weeks, completely erasing the drought and dry conditons that normally plague the state. While California has been the beneficiary of this active storm track, much of the rest of the western U.S. is currently experiencing a snow drought. Snowpack levels are reaching record lows in some areas of the West, prompting concerns that a rough summer lies ahead.

This is the first time since 2000 that California has not been under any level of moderate drought anywhere across the large state. Although there have been short periods of drought-free conditions since 2000, there have always been a few pockets of the state that were still listed as being abnormally dry, as defined by the five-level scale employed by the U.S. Drought Monitor tracking service.

This service measures drought conditions by looking at data on rainfall, snowpack, vegetation, streamflow, and soil moisture to compare current circumstances to normal. The U.S. Drought Monitor then classifies dryness within five categories: abnormally dry (D0), moderate (D1), severe (D2), extreme (D3), and exceptional drought (D4).