California Out Of Most Severe Category Of Drought, Per Latest US Drought Monitor Map

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - The latest U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday, showed that early January rainfall and snow in Northern California helped eliminate the worst of drought conditions in the state.

No part of California, according to the Drought Monitor, is in what's referred to as exceptional drought, the most severe category. Only three months ago, 45% of the state was in exceptional drought.

As for extreme drought, the second most severe category, only three small spots in Northern California are visible on the map.

However, some regions of Southern California, like much of the rest of the state, remain in moderate to severe drought.

Since Oct. 1, 2021, CBSLA Meteorologist Alex Biston reports that downtown Los Angeles has seen over 10 inches of rain, well above the average rainfall of just over 5 inches. Since Jan. 1, downtown has only seen trace amounts of rain.

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