Could California's long drought finally be over?
Well, for half of the Golden State, it is.
Researchers from the Drought Monitor, a federal organization designed to create and update maps displaying various droughts from around the nation, declared that 49% of California is now drought-free. As mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle, this is an "astonishing recovery from a year ago when just 5 percent of the state was considered removed from peril." While recent precipitation levels are not the only cause of this phenomenon, heavy rain since autumn of last year have made an impact on flooding and mudslides, which in turn have actually negated dry conditions that California might have been experiencing beforehand.
Why is this important?
For one, less statewide drought means that California does not have to limit as many resources when it comes to replenishing the thirst of the state. Even though Governor Jerry Brown's drought emergency declaration is still in place and some cities and towns will still not have access to an adequate amount of fresh water, the majority of regions in Northern California will not have to endure limitations in this respect for much longer. In fact, according to the federal index as revealed by Bill Chappell of NPR, all of the Bay Area except for a small portion of Santa Clara County is completely free of drought-like conditions.
What does the drought look like for the 51% of California that lives in affected areas?
As mentioned above, the drought may be partially over, but not completely. The U.S. Drought Monitor still cites some cities in Southern California as having "extreme" or "exceptional" drought (the two highest levels), and twenty-five million people will still be impacted by the dry weather. In the midst of the recent increase of precipitation, damage has occurred in a variety of California's state parks, including to the "Pioneer Cabin Tree", a sequoia that had been carved to resemble a tunnel at Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
For more information on the California drought, please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought/california
Articles Analyzed:
Well, for half of the Golden State, it is.
Researchers from the Drought Monitor, a federal organization designed to create and update maps displaying various droughts from around the nation, declared that 49% of California is now drought-free. As mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle, this is an "astonishing recovery from a year ago when just 5 percent of the state was considered removed from peril." While recent precipitation levels are not the only cause of this phenomenon, heavy rain since autumn of last year have made an impact on flooding and mudslides, which in turn have actually negated dry conditions that California might have been experiencing beforehand.
Why is this important?
For one, less statewide drought means that California does not have to limit as many resources when it comes to replenishing the thirst of the state. Even though Governor Jerry Brown's drought emergency declaration is still in place and some cities and towns will still not have access to an adequate amount of fresh water, the majority of regions in Northern California will not have to endure limitations in this respect for much longer. In fact, according to the federal index as revealed by Bill Chappell of NPR, all of the Bay Area except for a small portion of Santa Clara County is completely free of drought-like conditions.
What does the drought look like for the 51% of California that lives in affected areas?
As mentioned above, the drought may be partially over, but not completely. The U.S. Drought Monitor still cites some cities in Southern California as having "extreme" or "exceptional" drought (the two highest levels), and twenty-five million people will still be impacted by the dry weather. In the midst of the recent increase of precipitation, damage has occurred in a variety of California's state parks, including to the "Pioneer Cabin Tree", a sequoia that had been carved to resemble a tunnel at Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
For more information on the California drought, please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought/california
Articles Analyzed:
- http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Feds-Thanks-to-storms-nearly-half-of-California-10886358.php
- http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/26/511833338/nearly-half-of-california-emerges-from-drought-in-latest-report
Written By: Robby Ackles