Nearly two-thirds of California is ‘abnormally dry.’ See where impacts are worst
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- About 39% of California faces moderate to exceptional drought conditions
- Southern California and Central Valley counties are suffering from drought.
- Forecasts predict hot, dry summer with elevated wildfire and irrigation stress
Nearly two-thirds of California was “abnormally dry” as the state braced for more hot, dry weather and strong winds, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest update.
About a third of the Golden State was experiencing “moderate” to “exceptional” drought conditions as of Thursday, June 19, the U.S. Drought Monitor said, with Southern California and parts of the Central Valley getting hit the hardest.
The worst impacts appeared to be confined to the southwestern corner of the state.
Here’s a look at drought conditions across California:
How much of California is in drought?
About 62% of California was considered abnormally dry as of Thursday, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s weekly report tracking drought conditions across the state.
As of Thursday, 39% of the Golden State was under moderate drought conditions and about 23% was in a severe drought, the map showed.
According to the drought monitor, about 5.9% of California was in extreme drought conditions and 0.1% was under exceptional drought conditions as of Thursday.
What parts of California are abnormally dry?
Parts of California considered abnormally dry included much of central California — including most of San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Madera, Mariposa and Mono counties, the drought map indicated.
Parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, El Dorado, Alpine, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties were also affected.
In the northwestern corner of California, all of Del Norte County and parts of Humboldt and Siskiyou counties are also abnormally dry, the drought map showed.
Areas experiencing moderate drought or worse were mostly sound in southern half of the state, including Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties.
Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties were experiencing drought conditions, according to the Drought Monitor.
Most of Santa Barbara, Inyo, Kings and Merced counties were suffering from drought conditions along with parts of Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties, the Drought Monitor map showed Thursday.
California sees ‘elevated wildfire threat,’ water shortages
As of Thursday morning, an estimated 22.7 million Californians were living in drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Recent hot spells and dryness have “manifested in rapidly developing soil moisture shortages, declining prospects for summer water supplies, an elevated wildfire threat, a boost in irrigation demands and increased stress on rain-fed crops,” researchers wrote in a weekly national drought summary.
Bouts of warm weather have resulted in the rapid drying and early melting of the snow pack, leading to “a variety of agricultural and water-supply issues and concerns,” researchers said.
Will California have hot, dry weather this summer?
Hot, dry weather could continue to worsen drought conditions in California in the summer of 2025, early forecasts indicated.
From June through August, California is forecast to experience above-average temperatures and lower-than-usual precipitation, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac Summer 2025 weather map.
Temperatures are expected to be above normal for most of California for the months of July, August and September, according to a long-range forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
Temperatures are likely to lean above average in parts of Southern California, the prediction center said.
The Climate Prediction Center forecast indicated that all of California would have “equal chances” of below-normal or above-normal rainfall from July through September.
This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Nearly two-thirds of California is ‘abnormally dry.’ See where impacts are worst."
