Nearly all of California exits the worst drought categories in U.S. Drought Monitor The latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor showed an extraordinary sight: Deep splotches of dark red and purple signifying the worst levels of drought have been erased from California’s map almost completely.But even this extraordinary bounty isn’t enough A battery of January storms has blanketed the Sierra Nevada in extraordinary snowpack, but will it last through the winter?The latest seasonal outlooks from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center show an equal chance of wetness or dryness in most of Northern California through March, making it hard to predict what the coming months will bring.What’s more, Southern California’s other major water source, the Colorado River, hasn’t benefited much from the atmospheric rivers, and its largest reservoir, Lake Mead, is still perilously low.“While these big atmospheric rivers are helpful, really what we need for an average water year is sustained precipitation.” The stories shaping California Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week."