How the 2019 winter washed away California’s drought

Photo: Aerial view of snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains. Credit: NOAA

Monday, March 25th 2019, 11:47 am – Every major reservoir in the state is above historic revels, and there are some that are completely full

Last week marked the first time since December 2011 that California has been free of drought conditions, breaking a 376-week streak.

Only some reservoirs in the far northern edge of the state, along the Oregon border and others down south near Mexico, are still experiencing abnormal dryness, but as of March 19th, there is no drought in sight for the state of California.

Despite the winter floods, landslides, traffic jams and power outages, California had an exceptional winter season in terms of precipitation. A train of Pacific Ocean storms, fed by a very active atmospheric river pattern, drenched much of the state during winter 2018/19, while dumping tremendous amounts of snow on the mountains all within the last three months.

Just a year ago, the U.S. Drought Monitor Report showed the state experiencing up to 49 per cent of some type of drought. Most of central and southwest California were under severe drought conditions, with remnants of extreme drought still affecting several counties north of Los Angeles. Even snowpack, as seen in the image above, was considerably small compared to this years abundant cover.Drought conditions in 2019 (left) versus […]

Full article with more maps and video: How the 2019 winter washed away California’s drought