Drought in Tulare Cty Foothills, California

Persistent drought conditions continued to be reported.

The California drought continues during the month of December, 2016. Fresno received 2.51 of precipitation and Bakersfield received 2.41 precipitation during the month. Fresno had slightly above normal precipitation with 0.74 above normal. Bakersfield had significantly above normal precipitation with 1.39 above the normal precipitation amounts. Above normal precipitation amounts did allow for slight improvement on drought conditions with an increase in soil moisture and some reservoir recharge.

The U.S. Drought Monitor continued to report exceptional drought conditions across the entire Central California region. This extent of exceptional drought is extremely unusual for California. The general trend of below normal precipitation and above normal temperatures has continued this year.

There continues to be significant media coverage on the on-going drought conditions. These reports include discussion of significant re-allocation of water resources from the east to west side of the San Joaquin Valley, farmers forgoing planting of some crops, loss or reduction of ground water, wells drying up in several communities leaving them with no water, and an unprecedented increase in fire danger across the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains. Also, communities in Central California interior face state mandated reductions in municipal water use.