It\u2019s a rare site to see the U.S. Drought Monitor Map show California without a drought, or even abnormally dry conditions. That hasn\u2019t happened for a quarter-century.<\/p>\n
A growing snowpack<\/a> and above-average rainfall is credited for lifting the state out of the dreaded drought status. The last time the drought map showed no drought was December, 2000.<\/p>\n Perhaps no other state in the nation has been more impacted by drought than California. Dry conditions have resulted in devastating wildfires and caused billions of dollars in losses to San Joaquin Valley farmers<\/a> and their surrounding communities.<\/p>\n \u201cTo know it\u2019s been 25 years since no part of the state shows any symptoms of a drought is pretty remarkable,\u201d said Ryan Jacobsen, chief executive officer of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.<\/p>\n And while that may be a relief, Jacobsen also sees the bigger picture.<\/p>\n \u201cBy no means is this a reflection of things to come,\u201d said Jacobsen, an almond and wine grape grower. \u201cThe drought monitor is really looking at just localized conditions, you know, then and there.\u201d<\/p>\n State Climatologist Michael Anderson said the state doesn\u2019t use the U.S. Drought Monitor<\/a> as an \u201cindicator, and it\u2019s not an official drought-free declaration.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson called it a \u201csnapshot\u201d in time of current conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we\u2019ve seen in past years, California can go quickly from wet to dry conditions, and we are expecting dry conditions to return through the rest of January. This will have an impact on statewide rain and snowfall averages, which are expected to decrease,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n