Drought in Fresno - Tulare Lower Sierra, California

The Fresno and Tulare County Lower Sierra were classified as being in an exceptional drought due to a long term precipitation deficit.

Central California remained abnormally dry in September 2022. A record setting heat wave on the first nine days of the month made the ongoing drought conditions worse as the intense heat continued to dry out the soil. The heat wave was followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms between the 10th and the 12th as moisture from Hurricane Kay surged into the area. A winter like storm brought some light precipitation to the area on September 18 and 19. However, these events did little to improve the long term drought conditions. By the end of the month, nearly all of our area remained in an extreme or exceptional drought as most of our area has received less than a third of normal precipitation since July 1, 2020.