![]() The map is mainly used as a tool by the U.S. It indexes a wide array of indicators - from groundwater storage and river levels to soil moisture and satellite-based assessments of vegetation health - and attempts to capture drought in a single snapshot. The Drought Monitor is produced by a team of scientists at the USDA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. ![]() Even after this wet winter, the state could continue to struggle with "21st century drought," such as dead and dying trees that provide fuel for wildfires and sinking land due to groundwater being pulled from aquifers, he added. The remaining parts of the state that still show some drought are a result of "lingering impacts," such as depleted groundwater storage, from the long-term drought that started in 2019, he said. "The last time California saw a 5-class change for the better during a winter wet season" was in the 2016-17 winter, Rippey wrote in an email. Rippey said that this winter, much of the San Joaquin Valley saw what he calls a "5-class improvement," meaning it jumped five categories - going from D4 (exceptional drought) to no drought. Get the latest at #CAwx #CAdrought /n4ZLJuErAe- NWS Bay Area □ March 16, 2023 Who wants an updated drought monitor?! Slight improvements over the last week, major improvements since the beginning of the water year. This is not surprising, as multiple storms have passed over the Golden State, piling up a massive snowpack and replenishing rivers and reservoirs. When you compare the March 14 map with the one issued in early October (see above), the start of the rainy season, you can see a tremendous improvement in drought conditions across California. Many rural areas are still experiencing water supply challenges, especially communities that rely on groundwater supplies that have been depleted due to prolonged drought." "While winter storms have helped the snowpack and reservoirs, groundwater basins are much slower to recover. "Conditions have changed dramatically in many parts of the state since late December," the California Department of Water Resources said in a statement responding to the latest Drought Monitor map. While a parade of storms has built up a massive snowpack and replenished reservoirs in California this winter, state officials have yet to say that the drought is completely over. ![]()
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