So much for dry January.
California has no dry areas and is 100% free of droughts for the first time in 25 years — but it probably won’t last long, an expert told The Post.
No part of the Golden State is facing drought conditions after as a series of storms across the state, according to the US Drought Monitor — the first time since December 2000 that the California map has been this wet.
That’s a sharp contrast to the 1,337-day drought that stretched from February 2020 to October 2023 but one drought expert said Californians should dampen their expectations about further damp conditions.
“It’s nice for now, but don’t get used to it,” said Jay Lund, a retired professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis.
“We’re very unlikely to have a decade without drought,” he said. “That’s just the nature of California’s climate.”
Recent storms had boosted reservoir and surface water levels as of Wednesday, according to monitoring data. And seven of the state’s 12 major reservoirs are now at least 75% full, ABC7 reported.
But Lund is raining on the parade — noting the drought-free designation reflects recent weather rather than long-term changes.
The drought monitor focuses largely on precipitation and surface conditions so an exceptionally wet period can quickly change the map even as deeper groundwater shortages persist, he noted.
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California’s climate is among the most variable in the nation, making drought a recurring feature rather than an anomaly, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The state frequently swings between extremely wet and extremely dry years, while truly “average” years are rare.
The state has spent much of the past two decades under drought or near-drought conditions, though a single dry year does not constitute a drought. The PPIC notes that droughts typically emerge after multiple consecutive dry years, when reservoirs and groundwater basins are depleted.
There were massive droughts in 1976–77, 1987–92, 2007–09 and 2012–16.
Past droughts are still being felt across the state in groundwater basins and ecosystems that can take years, or even decades, to recover, Lund said.
But Lund, who helped lead UC Davis’ Center for Watershed Sciences, said California is better prepared for a lack of water than other governments.
“Compared to most places, we’ve made tremendous accomplishments,” he said. “Many regions would trade to have our water problems instead of theirs.”
