As fire-prone Southern California continues a dry start to the rainy season, extreme drought has spread to parts of Los Angeles County, according to this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor report.
Extreme drought, the second-severe category in the weekly report, was confined to southeastern California last week, but the report released Thursday shows it is in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Some of them are included in this category.
California Drought Monitor Map released on January 23, 2025.
About 11 percent of California is in extreme drought. Thirty-three percent of the state, including northern Los Angeles County, is in severe drought.
At this time last year, no area of California experienced extreme, severe or even moderate drought. About 39 percent of the state is in moderate drought, and 67 percent is considered abnormally dry. Large areas of Northern California, where the storm brought rain and snow, will not be in a drought this week.
The report reflects a dry start to Southern California’s rainy season.
“This has been a very slow start for a water year,” meteorologist Belen de Leon said. “We are now in the second driest start of the water year.”
The red flag warning has been extended until 10 a.m. Friday as strong winds lift ash and dust into the air. This video was broadcast on NBC4 News on January 23, 2025 at 4am.
After two seasons of above-average rainfall, months of dry weather left hillsides covered in dry brush, providing fuel for wildfires fanned by Santa Ana’s powerful winds.
The average rainfall for this time of year in Downtown Los Angeles is approximately 14.25 inches. The region received 28.40 inches of rainfall during the 2022-2023 rainy season, followed by 25.19 inches in 2023-2024.
Downtown Los Angeles has so far received 0.16 inches of rainfall during the season, which runs from October to April.
January, the second wettest month of the year, averages nearly 4 inches of precipitation. It hasn’t rained in downtown Los Angeles this month, but temperatures are forecast to drop and a slight chance of rain is forecast for the weekend.
“The worst start to the water year continues from much of Southern California, southern Nevada and Utah to Arizona and New Mexico,” the Drought Monitor report said. “While most of the region’s managed water systems are healthy after two consecutive wet winters, short-term drought indicators for this water year indicate significant short-term drought from the Southwest to Southern California. “Drought conditions continue to worsen.” Drought conditions have expanded and intensified across much of Southern California this week. ”
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