After 5 years, northern California's drought is over
There's an upside to inclement winter weather, northern California is realizing: It can end historic, punishing droughts.
On Thursday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist David Miskus declared that "the drought is over in northern California," as this week's U.S. Drought Monitor showed less than 60 percent of California was experiencing drought. Currently, 42 percent of the state is classified as not experiencing drought conditions, a huge improvement from the just 3 percent that was drought-less this time last year. This is the first time since 2013 that so little of the state is experiencing an active drought.
The progress comes thanks to "a series of relentless storms this winter," The Mercury News reports, which helped return "nearly all of northern California from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Oregon border ... to normal water conditions." Northern California experienced heavy storms this past week, and has been deluged with wet weather throughout the winter.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, the Golden State is not out of the woods yet: Drought conditions are still severe in southern California, with Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and parts of Los Angeles County in the most dire straits. Officials say the state's future hinges on snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which provides water to the state during the warmer seasons; this winter's storms boosted the snowpack "to 158 percent of normal," the Los Angeles Times reports, making a "significant dent" in the state's years-long drought, though there are still "serious water woes to the south."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Unthinkable tragedy'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Passenger: 'pleasingly off-kilter' ITV crime drama
The Week Recommends There's 'plenty to be feared' in this British murder mystery set in a quiet northern town
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published