Photo: AFP
The US Drought Monitor says about 99% of California is still in some level of drought.
The state is mostly in the "Moderate" and "Severe Drought" categories as snow and precipitation levels continue to remain lower for California. Del Norte County, just south of the Oregon border, is in the lowest of the five-category scale at "Abnormally Dry." Officials say just a small fraction of Siskiyou and Trinity counties are in the second-worst "Extreme Drought" category. None of the state is in the highest "Exceptional Drought" category. As of now, the state has been locked into severe drought forecasts for at least two years with below-level precipitation numbers for the snowpack and rainfall while higher temperatures have settled. California received some much needed relief in the later end of 2021 with some atmospheric rivers passing through, but since then the weather has been reported to be entering a dry spell until at least March.
Forecasters say there is no rain in the long-range forecast, which will continue to impact water reservoirs, agriculture and irrigation for the state.