California has drought eased significantly due to heavy rains, federal government concludes

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A series of atmospheric river storms since Christmas has significantly reduced California’s drought, the federal government concluded Thursday. For the first time in more than two years — since Dec. 1, 2020 — the majority of the state is no longer in a severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly report put out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Overall, 46% of California’s land area remains in severe drought, the report found, a dramatic improvement over the pa...