California Drought Map Before and After Extreme Rain

After two weeks of extreme rainfall across California, the severe drought that has gripped most of the state in recent months is beginning to ease. But it will need more than a few weeks of rain to ease the overarching megadrought that has gripped the southwestern U.S. over the past two decades.

"The past three years have been the driest three-year period on record," Jeff Mount, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center, told Newsweek. "That just beats the driest three-year period on record from 2013 to 2015. And both of these three-year periods have been the hottest on record.

"California has been in dry conditions for much of the last 10 years with only two years of wet. The impacts are broad...but rural communities, farms, and the environment have been hit particularly hard."

Just three months ago, 94 percent was experiencing severe drought, with 17 percent of that categorized as "exceptional drought," the U.S. Drought Monitor's most intense drought categorization. However, as of January 3, 2023, this exceptional drought that covered 7 percent of the state just two weeks ago has now been relieved.

During the same period, the area of California categorized as being under "extreme" drought has come down from 41 percent three months ago to just 27 percent today.

A "severe drought" is still in place across over 70 percent of the state, but this is a marked improvement from three months ago. It is hoped that the heavy rain currently battering California will offset some of the effects of this year's dry season and restore water levels in the state's crucial reservoirs.

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Record-breaking precipitation has been seen in certain parts of the state, including San Francisco, where 5.46 inches of rain fell in a single day on December 31, marking the second wettest day in over 170 years.

"This wet January is a statewide event, with southern California getting its share of the storms," Mount said. "This is likely to be a very wet month—and winter so far—for all of California."

More rain is expected across the state this week. However, to have a significant impact on the state's dwindling water reserves, it will take more than just two weeks of wet weather. "We need to see a sustained accumulation of precipitation throughout the season," Jeanine Jones, drought manager for the California Department of Water Resources, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "It's great that we're having some storms and getting precip, but we need that to continue."

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