Timelapse Video Shows Drastic Change in California's Drought Over 3 Years

A timelapse video published on Sunday shows just how much California has improved since struggling with severe, widespread drought since early 2020.

California has battled a years-long drought that severely depleted the state's reservoirs and spurred wildfire risk by providing ample amounts of dry fuel. Above-average precipitation last winter, including 14 atmospheric rivers that pummeled the state with rain, drastically changed the situation, but the state still had some pockets of drought.

Now, the state is completely free from drought for the first time in three years, with only a few "abnormally dry" patches in the north and the southeast.

Storm chaser Colin McCarthy shared a timelapse video of the U.S. Drought Monitor's map classifications for California showing the drastic improvement over the last year.

"California is completely drought-free statewide for the first time in over 3 years. Incredible," he posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday night.

The video begins in spring 2020 when extreme drought parched a small pocket in northern California. Much of the rest of the state was dealing with severe and moderate drought.

As the video progresses, it shows that the drought worsened. By spring 2021, a swath of southeastern California was plagued by exceptional drought—the most serious classification by the U.S. Drought Monitor—while much of the rest of the state suffered from extreme or severe drought. The situation degraded as the year went on and by that fall, most of the state was battling exceptional drought.

The drought ebbed a little during the winter months, but quickly worsened again throughout 2022. However, an abnormally wet winter saturated much of the state, and damp conditions persisted throughout the spring and summer of this year.

The deluge of rain led to the first superbloom in years—in which native wildflowers bloom in California's deserts and grasslands all at the same time. When tropical storm Hilary made landfall in August, it alleviated much of the drought in the southern part of the state. There was so much rain that a lake formed in Death Valley National Park and has remained in the months since.

Only 5 percent of the state is now classified as being "abnormally dry," according to the video. As winter months approach, more rain is on the way. An atmospheric river is expected to bring excessive rain to the Pacific Northwest through Tuesday.

The forecast shows that rain from the atmospheric river will stretch as far south as Redding, California, and will likely saturate the remaining dry patches in northern California.

AccuWeather meteorologist Joseph Bauer told Newsweek that widespread rain has soaked the Pacific Northwest and will continue to fall as a second storm hits the region early this week.

"The northwest is in some pretty stout drought conditions here, largely stemming from just a few seasons of below average rainfall," Bauer said. "The rain coming this week without a doubt is going to bring some benefit there and alleviate some drought concerns."