How does California drought compare to last week and when will it rain? Maps show latest
California drought conditions haven’t changed since last week — but some precipitation is in the forecast.
About 99% of the state is still experiencing at least “abnormally dry” conditions, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday. The latest update shows 84.6% of the state remains in at least a “moderate drought” status and 32% in a “severe drought.” No areas are experiencing extreme or exceptional drought.
The stable drought conditions may be due to the dry, but cooler temperatures that have swept over most of the West Coast, including California, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Most of Del Norte County is free of even abnormally dry conditions, and the Central Coast exited drought status after January storms.
An estimated 33.4 million Californians are currently living in a drought areas, based on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Below is a map that depicts updated conditions in California. Take a look at where your area falls:
Possibility for rain
The National Weather Service tweeted on Wednesday a shift in weather “could bring widespread precipitation and mountain travel impacts” to the valley and the Sierra. It will know more in the coming days.
The Sacramento forecast is predicting dry weather for the next five days. Temperature highs will reach 64 degrees over the weekend and dip to 33 degrees on Friday night.
Snowpack levels
According to the Department of Water Resources, 51 stations in the Central Sierra are reporting at 188% of normal on Thursday.
The National Resources Conservation reported that “deep snowpack in California, the Great Basin and Colorado River Basin continues to grow.”
Below is a map depicting snowpack levels throughout the western mountains.
