California completely drought-free for the first time in 25 years

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Yahoo! News/The Weather Network

Fri, January 9, 2026 at 8:41 p.m. EST


It’s a major milestone in one of the continent’s most fire-prone regions.

No corner of California was abnormally dry or mired in drought at the start of the new year, marking the first time we’ve seen this momentous atmospheric accomplishment in a quarter of a century.

A series of atmospheric rivers washed over the western shores of the U.S. and Canada during the closing weeks of 2025, alternating up and down the coast from southern California to northern British Columbia. Many of the more potent feeds of moisture slammed into California with ample rains and occasional bouts of intense mountain snowfall.

The Jan. 6, 2026, update of the United States Drought Monitor showed California completely free of abnormally dry or full-on drought conditions. This marks the first time the state was entirely clear of a noteworthy precipitation deficit since late-December 2000.

Read more: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/california-completely-drought-free-first-014141836.html

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Link to U.S. Drought Monitor (dynamic and updates) - https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap.aspx

Latest (published 1/8/26) -

[IronLionZion]

1. That's good, after the wildfires last year around this time

[Igel]

5. Remember, much of the Southland has a cycle.

You can't have wildfires without brush build up.

You can't have brush build up without rain.

After a few years, you realize "much rain = much brush = much wildfire risk."

[QueerDuck]

2. More fruits and veggies... but will there be enough workers to harvest and pack them?

I love California wines. I hope this is a good growing season.

[rollin74]

3. this is great news

[MarineCombatEngineer]

4. I frequently travel the I-5 corridor from So. CA, to the US/Canadian border and I cross the

Pit River Bridge over Shasta Lake in No. CA. as I head into the Cascade mountain range and I've seen the lake rise dramatically in the last few weeks.

[BaronChocula]

7. I've been a little obsessive over this CA.gov site for years now

It tracks water levels of the state's major reservoirs. Shasta is at 136% of historical average!

https://cdec.water.ca.gov/resapp/RescondMain

[SWBTATTReg]

6. Nice. Here in Missouri, I see that we do have some areas of drought, my concern is the bottom SE

part of Missouri, where it's mostly forestland, and somewhat unpopulated (rural area, mining and forestry are the most leading industries)...

California, I'm glad to see that you're getting a break, so perhaps you are getting watersheds refilled, and everyone a well-deserved break.