DROUGHT LEVEL AT LOWEST IN 2 YEARS

Winter rains push San Diego County to ‘abnormally dry’ status

The heavy winter rains have lowered San Diego County’s drought ranking to the lowest level in nearly two years, and more precipitation might be coming in midMarch.

The U.S. Drought Monitor now lists the region as being “abnormally dry.” The county had been in a “moderate drought” since May 2021. Prior to that, greater San Diego experienced about 18 months of no drought conditions.

A consortium of federal and university scientists evaluate drought conditions nationwide on a weekly basis. There are six condition categories: no drought, abnormally dry, moderate drought, severe drought, extreme drought and exceptional drought.

Last fall, forecasters were concerned that San Diego County would suffer widespread wildfires because the region had gone through two straight years of below-average rain. But this has turned out to be a wet winter.

Since the rainy season began on Oct. 1, San Diego International Airport has recorded 9.86 inches of rain. The airport averages 9.79 inches during the entire season, which lasts from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

March is typically one of the wetter months of the year; San Diego averages 1.76 inches of rain.

“It’s possible that we’ll get substantial rain this year,” said Liz Schenk, a forecaster at the National

Weather Service. “The Climate Prediction Center says there is a 50 percent to 60 percent chance of stormy weather during the week of March 10-16.”

The region tends to get drier with the arrival of spring. But San Diego got 2.15 inches of rain in March 2020, and it experienced a record 6.96 inches in 1991.

There have even been occasions when April was wet. The airport recorded 3.68 inches in April 2020 and a record 5.37 inches in April 1926.