It’s official: SLO County has slipped back into drought after dry winter

Nearly all of San Luis Obispo County is now experiencing moderate drought conditions following a very dry winter — including a nearly rain-free February.

Most areas of the county are facing these conditions — except for the northwest region, which remains abnormally dry — according to U.S. Drought Monitor data released on Thursday.

The Drought Monitor uses data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other federal agencies to make its findings. It assesses conditions on a scale from no drought to D4, or exceptional drought.

D0 conditions are abnormally dry, and D1 represents moderate drought.

As of March 10, about 48% of California is experiencing a moderate drought. Another 31% of the state is abnormally dry, meaning 79% of California is in some form of classification.

Most or nearly all of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties are now in the midst of a moderate drought. Monterey County — most of which was not experiencing drought conditions two weeks ago — is now facing abnormal dryness.

The drought conditions come on the heels of one of the driest Februaries the Central Coast has ever experienced, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service (NWS) Los Angeles/Oxnard office.

The San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles airports received 0% of their normal precipitation, an NWS graphic shows. San Luis Obispo typically receives 3.65 inches of rain, and Paso Robles usually gets 2.59 inches.

LAX and the Paso Robles and Santa Maria airports all had the driest Februaries ever recorded, according to the NWS.

However, the drought classification could change quickly. Rain is in the forecast next week, when the county is expected to get 4 to 6 inches of precipitation, according to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey.

This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.