December 8, 2025 - National Integrated Drought Information System officals say wet start to California water year improves drought, but snowpack lags.

• Water Year 2026 (October 1, 2025–September 20, 2026) began very differently than Water Year 2025. Drought developed in the first few months of the last water year and expanded over the region. This water year, over the course of 2 months, drought across California-Nevada has improved by 1-3 categories, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
• Since the start of the 2026 Water Year on October 1, several areas of California-Nevada have received more than 300% of normal water year to date precipitation, improving soil moisture conditions. Snowpack is starting to build, albeit slowly due to much-above-normal temperatures.
• Long-term drought (according to the U.S. Drought Monitor) lingers from central-southern Nevada to the California border, an extension of drought conditions from the Southwestern U.S.
• Extended range outlooks remain uncertain for December. NOAA’s National Weather Service forecasts a break in precipitation over the next two weeks, with slight indications for Southern California to be drier than normal through February.
• NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and partners will continue to provide the latest information on conditions, outlooks, and impacts through the water year. 

This update is based on data available as of Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 7:00 a.m. PT. We acknowledge that conditions are evolving.



Source: Drought.gov