By Jonathan Belles
At a Glance
- Moderate drought has begun in Central California.
- A northern storm track has meant little rain and snow.
- This is typically California’s rainy season.
- An early fire season could be ahead.
Storm after storm has swerved away from California, and drought conditions have started to return.
For the first time since early December, a small part of the Golden State’s central valley and Sierra Nevada have fallen into a moderate drought.
With this week’s update from the U.S. Drought Monitor, more Californians are in a moderate drought than at any time in the last year, in terms of population.
A persistent storm track has kept winter storms to the north and east of California since December. The average jet stream track since the beginning of December, as seen in the above graphic, has kept temperatures warm and precipitation far below average.
Much of Central California has yet to see a drop of rain in February, typically one of the state’s wetter months. If San Francisco stays dry through the end of the month, it will only be the second February in 170 years with no precipitation in the city.
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