If you’re Gen Z, you might be experiencing a strange first this week: the entire state of California emerging out of drought conditions.
Record rainfall numbers have swelled California reservoirs, re-wetted parched ground, and filled rivers and lakes far beyond their normal water levels. (As of publishing, every single California reservoir is over 100% filled — with the state’s largest ones each over 125% above their historic averages.)
It’s already proving to be a banner year for California rainfall averages … all of which has left the state completely drought-free for the first time in over two decades.
For the 1st time in 25 years not a single square mile of California is dry on the US Drought Monitor. Have to go back to December 2000 to find a similar situation. If you’re 25 or younger you’ve always lived in a world where California has been entering or recovering from drought pic.twitter.com/X7Fz0RCjXP
— Drew Tuma (@DrewTumaABC7) January 8, 2026
“For the 1st time in 25 years, not a single square mile of California is dry on the US Drought Monitor,” reads a post by ABC7 Meteorologist Drew Tuma. The state has seen the last few years ebb and flow between various drought severities. The early 2020s saw historic levels of drought wreak havoc on California, worsening wildfires and setting the stage for 2021 being the worst on record with over two million acres of land burned throughout the wildfire season; since 2022, California’s wildfire seasons have been comparably mild, sans outlying incidents like the Eaton and Palisades fires that devastated Los Angles, thanks rainfall averages causing drought-ridden areas to shrink.
Even the history-making storms of yesteryears weren’t enough to pull the state out of drought conditions entirely — that has all changed, thanks to the recent series of days-long rainstorms. For many Gen Zers, it’s the first time California has been without drought conditions since they were born.
“I have to go back to December 2000 to find a similar situation,” continues Tuma. “If you’re 25 or younger, you’ve always lived in a world where California has been entering or recovering from drought.”
Those among us who recall the omnipresent militant water-conservation efforts and wildlife evacuation warnings of the past decade are (yet again) enjoying relaxed shoulders right now.
