Drought Status Returns to California for First Time in 2024

Drought-free since earlier this year, California has now recorded its first dry spot in Northern California on the Oregon border. Siskiyou County reported moderate drought in its northern region, according to the latest drought monitor map released on July 11 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Climate Prediction Center. “It was a hot and dry week over the region with only some spotty precipitation in areas of California,” a drought map summary states. “Abnormally dry conditions were expanded over a large area of northern California, western Nevada, and Oregon as well as in central Idaho.” A map shows California’s drought conditions on July 9, 2024. (Courtesy of the U.S. Drought Monitor) The update showed that about 20 percent of the county is in “moderate drought” and nearly 78 percent is considered “abnormally dry.”...