More precipitation has fallen on California during its current “water year” than in the full prior 12-month span.
According to the National Weather Service in Sacramento, 33.9 trillion gallons of water have fallen on California in the current “water year,” the period running from Oct. 1 through the following September.
“We still have a long ways to go,” said Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services in Half Moon Bay. “Let’s hope the storm door reopens and stays open. We have to keep the storms coming.” The last few weeks of heavy storm weather in California have been working to push the state out of the exceptional drought category it's currently in, according to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor’s report. While precipitation and snow have helped alleviate some of the larger margins of drought, it will take a reported amount of precipitation to get the state on a consistent progressive trend upwards.