Parts of California severely dry while others are drought free for first time since 2019
Northern Californians can breathe easy knowing the region is completely out of drought, according to weather experts.
The last patches of unusually dry areas — remnants of drought that plagued counties along the Oregon and Nevada borders in 2024, and almost all North State counties from 2020 to 2023 — were wiped out by this year's wet winter. That's according to data taken at the end of each March by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
That happened in most counties even before places like Shasta County got the 19th wettest February on record, stretching back 131 years, according to the data service, a cooperative of federal agencies that includes the National Drought Mitigation Center.
However, drought maps also reported parts Southern California are in extreme drought, boosting fire risk this spring. That's after Southern California was already devastated by wildfires in winter.
'California is no stranger to drought. Drought is a gradual phenomenon, occurring slowly over a period of time.' according to the California Department of Water Resources drought information page.
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This year's wet season washed away the last of far Northern California's drought woes — at least for now. It's the first time since 2019 the area was out of drought in late March, toward the end of the rainy season, according to drought maps.
Those same maps show unusually dry conditions still lurking to the east, just across the state line in Nevada.
Drought monitor data recorded no signs of unusual dryness/drought since Nov. 19, 2024 in Shasta and Siskiyou counties, and none since Nov. 26 in Modoc County. Lassen County still had some unusually dry areas until Feb. 11, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
After a wet December and a dry January, February was a soaker. More than 17 inches of rain fell during the first two weeks of the month at the state's largest reservoir, Lake Shasta, north of Redding, according to the National Weather Service.
According to data maps, conditions turn unusually dry starting in the northern San Joaquin Valley, east of the San Francisco Bay Area. They mostly worsen, getting drier moving toward the South.
Coastal areas from Santa Barbara to San Diego counties are in severe drought, while some inland areas are suffering extreme drought, according to latest drought data posted on March 18. Driest areas include all of Imperial County, much of Riverside County, parts of San Bernardino and Inyo counties, and the eastern third of San Diego County.
One reason the south is still in drought is some winter storms that drenched Northern California couldn't continue on to Southern California, their usual pattern. They just dropped all their water on the north. That coupled with unusually strong Santa Ana winds plunged the southern part of the state into a terrible winter fire season, according to the weather service.
Rain finally arrived in parts of Southern California in late January and February, but most areas are still in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Is California still in a drought in 2025? This map shows you
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