How do California drought conditions compare to last week? What we know after first storm

Although Northern California had a drenched start to the year with multiple storms flooding the region, drought conditions appear only slightly improved in some areas.

A weekly update from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that as of Jan. 3, the entire state of California still has “abnormally dry” conditions.

That said, there are no areas with “exceptional drought” conditions, which is a decrease from 7.16% the previous week, Dec. 27.

About 27.1% of the state is in “extreme drought,” down from 35.5% and 71.1% is in “severe drought,” a drop from 80.5%.

Nearly 98% of California is in “moderate drought,” similar to last week.

You can see which areas are most affected by dry conditions with the interactive map below. The data is provided by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Two storms hit the region this week, a few days apart on New Year’s Eve and Jan. 4. Since the data was last updated Jan. 3, it does not reflect recent rain.

This story was originally published January 6, 2023 at 12:17 PM with the headline "How do California drought conditions compare to last week? What we know after first storm."