Storms are easing California drought conditions

Recent storms have made a dramatic dent in California’s drought. According to federal drought monitors, more than 40 percent of the state is free from drought. One year ago, nearly the entire state (97 percent) was in drought.

The report compiled by government and academic water experts shows that most of Santa Cruz County was drought-free as of January 10, 2016.

Conditions in Monterey County range from “abnormally dry” to “extreme drought.”

Most of San Benito County is categorized as having “severe” or “extreme” drought conditions.

To view the current national drought summary, click here.

This past week’s storms brought abundant rain to Northern California, and doubled the snowpack in parts of the Sierra Nevada. Later this year, runoff from the snowpack will provide water for much of the state.

In January 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency in California. The emergency remains in effect, and state officials said this week that Brown will likely wait until the end of California’s winter storm season before taking any action to revise the drought declaration.