- https://archive.is/aB3c4
by ifwinterco
6 subcomments
- This might be a stupid question, but if "drought" means "abnormally dry" yet an area is in "drought" 90% of the time, does that not just mean the definition of drought is wrong?
It would be more accurate to say that dry periods in california are just "normal weather" and the occasional wet periods are the abnormal weather.
I enjoy the rare periods when it's sunny in the UK, but I wouldn't refer to a typical cloudy period as a "sun drought" because the sun is what's abnormal
- Makes for a catchy headline, but you only have to go back to Jan 9, 2024* to find a similarly 'drought free' California:
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Maps/CompareTwoWeeks.aspx
(*Technically slivers of the state in the far north/south were 'abnormally dry' in 2024, a small difference from 2026)
- Ironically, the rest of the country is having a drought:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/01/18/winter-dro...
- I've lived in California my whole life (and the same town for most of that). This was the most rain I can remember in decades and the most "destruction" I've seen caused by it. Between the ground being saturated and wind before/after/during the storms there were plenty of downed trees.
We were also down to running sprinklers once a week (lawns are silly), but have had them off entirely for a bit now.
- As John Steinback said in East of Eden:
“I have spoken of the rich years when the rainfall was plentiful. But there were dry years too, and they put a terror on the valley. The water came in a thirty-year cycle. There would be five or six wet and wonderful years when there might be nineteen to twenty-five inches of rain, and the land would shout with grass. Then would come six or seven pretty good years of twelve to sixteen inches of rain. And then the dry years would come, and sometimes there would be only seven or eight inches of rain. The land dried up and the grasses headed out miserably a few inches high and great bare scabby places appeared in the valley. The live oaks got a crusty look and the sage-brush was gray. The land cracked and the springs dried up and the cattle listlessly nibbled dry twigs. Then the farmers and the ranchers would be filled with disgust for the Salinas Valley. The cows would grow thin and sometimes starve to death. People would have to haul water in barrels to their farms just for drinking. Some families would sell out for nearly nothing and move away. And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.”
- Previous CA resident anecdata, I remember droughts being a normal part of life in central CA 1990-early 2000s. Don't run sprinklers during certain hours, odd/even watering, "the water bill" exclaimations, etc. Like another commentor mentioned I don't anticipate this will last, but it's nice to see the "official" state change even if for a bit.
- Isn't this the same state where the rich people water their plush lawns even in the peak of summer during drought?
And where 90% of the water for its huge capital city-district (Los Angeles) is not even sourced locally (say, by desalination of seawater, as it is a coastal city), but it's instead piped from hundreds of miles away, while banning the villages at the source locations from using the local rivers/lakes as all that precious water gets piped away to feed the thirsty city-district (Los Angeles)?
by patwater10
0 subcomment
- Note that these indicators are looking at the drought monitor which just tracks soil moisture. There are active efforts underway to develop more comprehensive looks at precip and storage (snow, ground, reservoir etc)
by foolfoolz
5 subcomments
- strange because this is one of the warmest winters in decades. snow levels are far below normal, i saw 8% of normal in truckee. full reservoirs now are great but keeping them filled depends on a long snow melt going into june. i don’t think this is going to be a good year for that
- We are having an unusually dry and sunny winter in PNW.. I wonder if it is related.
- Groundwater and aquifers still depleted.
- And is the only state with no drought right now. Although they way they figure it is a bit biased -- it's based on how much water there is compared to historical values, so it's easier to be "drought free" if you've been in a drought for a while.
by windowpains
3 subcomments
- If only we built reservoirs to keep the water for the drought years it would be great news.
by block_dagger
2 subcomments
- I've lived in California for 20 years so this is my first year of non-draught. We've been enjoying the unusual prevalence of greenery in Orange County.
- Yet being "drought-free" today doesn't contradict climate change
by WalterBright
2 subcomments
- In other arid areas, people use terracing on hills so the water runoff is slowed and the water can soak into the aquifers. Also, dikes are built around fields to hold the water and also let it soak into the ground.
Are these done in California?
- Went to Badwater Basin in Death Valley last week and there's miles of (bad) water. Unfortunately the Park Service but the kibosh on paddle boarding, etc. Should be a good bloom this spring.
- This reminds me of a related issue: http://iscaliforniaonfire.com/
- so you're saying wildfires are kind of like a war, so DJT has fixed 9 wars!
by jagged-chisel
0 subcomment
- Stupid brain …
“… free of doughnuts …”
Definitely had me clicking.
- We already know he'll want a prize for that. Anyone has a Nobel for making it rain that usually goes to God?
by MelvinButtsESQ
0 subcomment
- Thank god Trump opened the valves. California is now seeing water the likes of which has never been seen before.
- “Despite the welcome relief, climate change is expected to intensify weather swings from heavy rainfall to extreme dryness in a cycle that can fuel catastrophic wildfires.”
…but we’re still fucked and don’t you dare forget it!
by legitster
1 subcomments
- People shouldn't really be celebrating anything here. Wet winters just mean that the much more important snowpack isn't happening:
> Recent storms have brought snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains, but the state’s snowpack remains below average. According to the Department of Water Resources, the snowpack now stands at 89% of average for this time of year.
> Much of the West has seen warmer-than-average temperatures and relatively little snow so far this winter. The snow in the Rocky Mountains remains far below average, adding to the strains on the overtapped Colorado River, a major water source for Southern California.
Refilling the reservoirs is nice and all, but this is still essentially a payday loan out of the future.
One of the complexities of global warming is that it makes weather more extreme in all directions. It can be true that the same stretch of ground can be more susceptible to flooding in the same year it's more susceptible to drought.
by knowitnone3
0 subcomment
- but prices will stay inflated
- I hope no one takes his headline as good news. Because it really signals dramatic changes in moisture in the atmosphere due to climate change.
by fuzztester
0 subcomment
- Until ... 10 . 9 . 8 ...
- And yet our water rates are still as if we are in a drought.
by eudamoniac
1 subcomments
- Hot take, but I find it hard to care very much about water shortages, especially near the coast. A single nuclear power plant dedicated to desalinization would fix the whole problem. That this is still politically infeasible indicates to me that the drought is not really a big deal.
- But its so hot lol
by patwater31
0 subcomment
- [dead]
by guywithahat
4 subcomments
- [flagged]
- Yeah cause Trump made them stop dumping the water into the ocean
by PlatoIsADisease
4 subcomments
- I had a joke that hit well: "California is in a drought? Who would have thought it doesn't rain in a desert."
- Thanks Governor Gavin for not using the water reservoirs during the fires! Now we can use them to sprinkle!
by johnsmith1840
9 subcomments
- The dams in california were built years ago for a smaller population and since then they've only removed them.
If we simply built like the people who first came to california did we would never have water shortages again.
Any water shortage is a 1:1 failure of the state to do the clear and obvious task needed.
- It’s important to note that rainfall in CA is not 100% natural. The state actively funds cloud seeding.
https://www.grants.ca.gov/grants/gfo-23-311-advancing-precip...
Example of a recent $2.5M grant.
This information is often buried in budgets under applied research grants. I suspect they obscure this information because it could create liabilities, for example, if gov funded rain seeding creates flooding and human death are they partially responsible for this?