Drought — Northern San Joaquin Valley, California

2022-11-01 to 2022-11-30 · Northern San Joaquin Valley, California

Event narrative

For the month of November, the U.S. Drought Monitor kept the eastern portion of Zone 19 in extreme drought (D3) with the remainder of the zone in severe drought (D2). The zone saw drought impacts continue due to the below-average precipitation for the water year. Some of the impacts the region saw included; reduced forage, decreased stock weights, livestock stress, selling of livestock, decrease in water allocation, increased reports of dry wells including domestic wells, hauling of water, and fallowed areas of cropland.

Wider weather episode

Interior northern California is still experiencing widespread drought. For the month of November, there were no changes made to drought severity levels in the region. Much of the region remains in severe to extreme drought with portions of the northern San Joaquin as high as exceptional drought. Many local and regional, as well as state-wide restrictions continue. Agricultural surface water deliveries continue to be significantly reduced. The state-wide drought declaration by Governor Gavin Newsom continues. Mandatory water restrictions are in place on outdoor water use for all Californians with possible fines to violators. Agriculture and most of the state's energy development are water-intensive industries and have less water for those purposes.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1062928. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.