Drought still grips these California counties as 72% of state recovers. Here’s where
A significant portion of Northern California shed its stubborn drought conditions in seven days, pushing the state further away from its driest three-year stretch on record.
According to a Thursday U.S. Drought Monitor update, roughly 3.2 million people remain in drought areas, a decrease from more than 5 million three weeks ago. The majority of the northern part of the state is drought-free except for Modoc and parts of Lassen, Shasta, Trinity and Siskiyou counties.
The entire Central Valley, Central Sierra, foothills, the coast and much of Southern California have exited drought conditions. Los Angeles County is now drought-free, while a sliver of San Diego County remains in “moderate” drought conditions.
The desert region hasn’t rid itself of drought quite yet as Inyo, Riverside, Imperial and San Bernardino counties remain in “moderate” to “severe” conditions.
California is nearly 72% drought-free.
Is California still in a drought?
Every week, California moves further away from its drought-stricken conditions.
But there is still work to do.
Last week, more than 51% of the state was at least abnormally dry. Now, it’s at 44.7%. Roughly 28% of the state has at least moderate drought — an improvement over last week’s 35.9% — and 1.95% remains in severe status.
Gavin Newsom says end to California drought isn’t cut and dry. Why experts are still worried
The state has been free of both “extreme” or “exceptional” drought since January.
The information used in this interactive map, collected from the U.S. Drought Monitor, was updated Thursday with data through March 28. Here are the drought conditions in California. See where your area lands:
When will it rain and snow again in California?
The latest round of heavy rain, snow and thunder are forecast to end this week — then California will be left to clean up the mess that three months of extreme weather have left behind.
In Sacramento, fair weather is supposed to last until at least Sunday when a chance of showers could disrupt the tail end of the weekend. Mountain snow is forecast to kick back again this weekend into early next week.
According to the Department of Water Resources, 48 stations in the Central Sierra Nevada are reporting at 233% of normal on Thursday.
Peak snow season is generally on April 1. As of Thursday, snowpack throughout California is 234% of the average.
What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.