Wettest April on Record Hardly Touches California’s Extreme Drought Situation

A colder and wetter than normal April and early May has improved snowpack in California since the end of March. 

• Related: 8-Trillion Gallons of Precipitation Just Fell on California | Surely That’s Enough to End the Drought, Right?

However, the snow nowhere near makes up for the record-breaking dry spell between January and March. The state is still in a drought, with most of the reservoirs below their historical averages.

6.1" (15.5 cm) of new #snow brings our season total to 396" (1006 cm), which is 110% of average! That includes 54" (138 cm) that fell in Oct and Nov and melted shortly afterward.

Our snowpack is still set to leave early but only by a few days now!#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/9b9Pn9LK1k

— UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) May 10, 2022

April 2022 was the wettest April on record for the state, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that 2022 is the driest year on record for the state.

Recent precipitation and cool temperatures have halted a record-fast rate of snowpack decline, and at 22% of the average for the date, the statewide snowpack is actually better than this time in 2021 (8% of average).