Heavy Rainfall Alleviates California’s Drought

A series of storms this week is causing California’s drought to recede. CNBC reports that, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 44 percent of the state is in severe drought or worse, down five percentage points from last week.

Nearly two-thirds of the state is still abnormally dry, though, and more than 26 million Californians live in drought-stricken areas. The southern portion of the state, particularly Los Angeles and the counties directly north of it, are being hit the hardest by the lack of rainfall.

Three storms are expected for the West Coast in the coming days, and in a way, rainfall could be worse than the drought itself. Heavy precipitation is damaging property through flooding, landslides, downed trees.

In spite of the rain, the State Water Resources Control Board is recommending that the state government keep some recent water conservation rules in place beyond their planned expiration date at the end of January. Readopting them would extend the rules into October.

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