💧 California completely drought-free for the first time in 25 years

• California has no dry areas for the first time since 2000 according to the US Drought Monitor.
• Heavy winter rains have filled the state's reservoirs far above historic averages.
• The December holiday period was one of the wettest ever for parts of southern California.

A quarter century of drought is over

California is completely free from drought for the first time in 25 years. A map published by the US Drought Monitor shows that no part of the state is currently experiencing drought or abnormal dryness.

The development came after weeks of above-normal rainfall. The rain has filled the state's reservoirs, including Lakes Shasta and Oroville, far above their historic averages.

In 2005 and 2011, the state saw periods with less than one percent abnormal dryness, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. But this is the first time since 2000 that not a single square kilometer of California is classified as dry on the US Drought Monitor.

Several years of rain behind the change

A few wet years and a series of winter storms have helped bring the state out of drought. The December holiday period was one of the wettest ever recorded for parts of southern California.

Intense winter storms hit California in 2023. The rain and hurricane-force winds toppled trees and flooded rivers. The barrage of storms that year helped ease the state's drought but did not eliminate it entirely.

As late as the end of December, there were still abnormally dry conditions in parts of the state. Modoc County in the northeast was particularly affected. That changed with heavy rains at the start of the year.

25 years of recurring water shortages

Over the past 25 years, drought conditions in California have worsened the state's wildfire crisis. The drought has also created challenges for the state's large agricultural sector.

Meteorologist Drew Tuma at ABC7 wrote on social media that anyone aged 25 or younger has always lived in a world where California has either been entering or recovering from drought.

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