Parts of California Exit Drought After Recent Rain, Snow

Locals enjoy outdoor activities after a powerful storm in Newport Beach, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

After a rare series of storms drenched California with rain and snow during the past 10 days, several regions are now out of drought or less dry, according to a map released on March 2 by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Prior to this week, all of California had been designated as in “extreme drought” with some areas deemed being in “exceptional drought.”

Areas out of a drought now are Del Norte County, Humboldt County, Sierra County, Nevada County, Placer County, El Dorado County, Amador County, Alpine County, and Calaveras County in Northern California.

Tuolumne and Mariposa counties and much of Monterey County are also now experiencing no drought and mild drought.

Significant improvements were also noted in the coastal regions of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, as well as Ventura County.

Courtesy of the U.S. Drought Monitor

Much of Southern California’s counties, including Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego showed improvements but largely remained “abnormally dry” and “moderate.”

Last year, Southern California was in the extreme drought category but in January, was upgraded to severe and moderate after rainstorms that started around Christmas.

“Over the following weeks, drought removal is likely across SoCal, the Bay Area, and all of the Sierra Nevada,” storm watcher Colin McCarthy wrote on Twitter March 3.