In the northeast corner of California, most of Lassen County now has moderate drought conditions. 

Despite the excessive rain and snow that California received in April, drought has crept back into the state, new data show. 

The U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday shows 65% of California as abnormally dry and nearly 5% experiencing moderate drought. 

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Before now, the period from December 2025 through March 2026 marked the first time in 25 years that California was entirely free of drought or even dryness on the monitor. 

“The drought and abnormally dry conditions being shown are mostly to capture the very poor snow season or ‘snow drought’ in the region,” Brian Fuchs, the University of Nebraska National Drought Mitigation Center climatologist who authored the recent map, wrote to SFGATE. He added: “The rain is good and beneficial, but the lack of snow over the winter for much of the West, including California, will lead to........

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