Recent Storms Lift Bay Area Out Of Extreme Drought Designation

After months of extreme drought, December's rainy weather has lifted the San Francisco Bay Area out of the designation.

December rain dumped several inches of rain in the Bay Area and brought more than 11 feet of snow in the Sierra, reports CBS SF.

According to the federal drought monitor update issued Thursday, December 30, nearly the entire Bay Area has been lifted from the extreme drought designation.

However, the Tri-Valley area of the East Bay has remained extremely water challenged. CBS SF reports the Bay Area is still shaded in orange which means severe drought.

“Let’s not forget, orange is still classified as severe drought,” said KPIX 5 meteorologist Darren Peck. “So it’s not like the drought is over, but boy have we made progress and I don’t want to downplay that.”

Since the rainy weather started on October 1, 2020, San Francisco has received 16.16 inches of rain, which is 201 percent of what would be considered normal for this time of year.

“You just don’t get out of a drought like that,” Peck said. “But if you are to get out of a drought, this how you do it. This is a huge step in the right direction. You can’t do it one month, but you can certainly make a huge improvement and move down that road in a meaningful way.”