California Drought Map Reveals Good News

An updated drought map published by the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) reveals that weather officials expect California to remain drought-free through May.

The U.S. Southwest has suffered from years of drought, and until recently, the most severe impacts have been centered around Lake Mead and Lake Powell and much of California.

Last year, none of California was free from drought, and more than 16 percent of the state suffered from exceptional drought, which is the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) most extreme classification.

A wet winter and various storms throughout 2023 erased all of the state's drought, and California's water outlook is in a good position after a similarly wet winter occurred this year.

In October, AccuWeather meteorologists officially predicted that the state will be free from significant drought into 2025. An updated drought outlook from the NIDIS shows that the prediction is correct, at least through May.

"May Drought Outlook Improvement/Removal expected for all drought in the Midwest," the post said. "Large parts of the Plains + pockets in the Northwest/N. Rockies too. Development in FL (see #DroughtMonitor released today), MT, HI, and part of CO/OK/NM/TX."

Newsweek has reached out to NIDIS by email for comment.

The map shared with the post showed California completely unaffected by drought. According to the map, forecasters expected the state to remain free from drought. It was expected to persist in the southern tip of Nevada. The worst in the U.S. was found in western Texas and much of New Mexico.

The NIDIS released a seasonal drought outlook that provided a forecast through July, which also revealed California as remaining free from drought. In other areas, drought is expected to worsen this summer, though, according to the outlook. The forecast predicts that seven states, including Texas, are at risk of drought development.

The drought previously took a toll on California, as many of the state's reservoirs reached concerningly low levels in 2022. The state's water outlook has since recovered, and most major reservoirs are near capacity.

A late season winter storm hitting this weekend is expected to improve the conditions even more just before the state enters its dry period. Up to 24 inches of snow was expected to fall in some high-elevation areas in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

The wet winter in 2023 not only helped eradicate the state's drought, but it also aided the state during its wildfire season. In August 2023, Newsweek published a chart that compared wildfire statistics over several years. Although more wildfires occurred in 2023 than in 2022, far fewer acres were burned.