Southern California is extremely dry, and that’s fueling fires − maps show just how dry
Dry conditions across Southern California set the stage for a series of deadly wind-driven wildfires that in the Los Angeles area in early January 2025.
, a hydrologist at the University of California-San Diego’s , tracks the state’s water supplies. He put Southern California’s dryness into perspective using charts and maps.
How dry is Southern California right now?
In early January, the soil moisture in much of Southern California was for that day in the region. That’s extremely low.
Hydrologists in California watch the sky very closely , when California’s water year begins.
The state gets very little rain from May through September, so late fall and winter are crucial to fill reservoirs and to build up the snowpack to provide water. California relies on .
However, Southern California started out the 2024-25 water year pretty dry. The region got some rain from an atmospheric river in November, but not much. After that, most of the that hit the West Coast from October into January veered northward into Washington, Oregon and Northern California instead.
When the air is warm and dry, and evaporation also suck water out of the plants and soil. That leaves dry vegetation that can provide fuel for , as the Los Angeles area saw in early January.
So, while Northern California’s water and are in good shape, Southern California is much drier and its water storage is not doing so well.
The Southern Sierra snowpack was starting to dip below normal in early January.
What can California expect for the rest of 2025?
The U.S. Climate Prediction Center’s seasonal outlook through March suggests that in the region in the coming months.
The outlook , an ocean temperature pattern that was on its way to developing in the Pacific Ocean in early 2025. La Niña tends to mean drier conditions in Southern California. However, not every La Niña affects California in the same way.
One or two big rain events could completely turn the table for Southern California’s water situation. In 2023, California saw .
So, it’s hard to say this early in the season how dry Southern California will be in the coming months, but it’s clear that people in dry areas need to pay attention to the risks.
