Drought Information Statement for Southwestern California Valid March 4, 2025 Issued By: NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard, CA Contact Information: This product will be updated Month, April 7, 2025 or sooner if drought conditions change significantly. Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/LOX/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/?dews_region=136 for regional drought status updates. Dry conditions across southern California from May 2024 through January 2025 have resulted in short term areas of D1 (moderate drought), D2 ( Severe Drought, and D3 (Extreme Drought) as shown on the U. S. Drought Monitor Map. Recent precipitation in February 2025 did bring some minor improvements to the drought depiction. 1 U.S. Drought Monitor Link to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor for California Drought intensity and Extent D4 (Exceptional Drought): None at this time D3 (Extreme Drought): Small portion of central Los Angeles County and an area in western Ventura and eastern Santa Barbara Counties. D2 (Severe Drought): Portions of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles Counties. D1 (Moderate Drought): Small portions of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles Counties. D0: (Abnormally Dry): Small portions of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. Recent Change in Drought Intensity Link to the latest 4-week change map for California and Nevada Four Week Drought Monitor Class Change. Drought Worsened: Small area of 1 class degradation in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. No Change: Areas shown in grey depict no drought monitor change in the past 4 weeks. Drought Improved: Areas in green show 1 class of drought category improvement. Precipitation Below normal precipitation has been observed across most of Southern California during the current water year (October 1, 2024 through March 3, 2025. Looking at the past 30 days of precipitation does show some areas across Southern California that have seen normal to above normal precipitation. Link to HPRCC Temperature The 7-day temperature anomaly shows above normal temperatures, while the 30 day temperature anomaly is showing some area of near normal to slightly above normal in Southern California. Summary of Impacts Links: See/submit Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR) and view the Drought Impacts Reporter Hydrologic Impacts Precipitation deficits over the past 9 months have resulted in in low soil moisture and below normal stream flow. Agricultural Impacts Non-irrigated pasture lands have been impacted from below normal precipitation. Fire Hazard Impacts Fire weather impacts have been lessened due to the recent precipitation across areas of Southern California Other Impacts None reported at this time Mitigation Actions None reported at this time Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts Generally normal streamflow conditions exist at this time across southern California California snowpack https://cdec.water.ca.gov/snowapp/sweq.action California water supply https://cdec.water.ca.gov/resapp/RescondMain Southern California water supply https://www.bewaterwise.com/water_suppl y_conditions/water_supply_conditions.pdf Image Caption: USGS 7 day average streamflow HUC map valid MM DD YYYY Agricultural Impacts Below normal soil moisture and crop moisture exists across southern California at this time. Fire Hazard Impacts Fire weather impacts have been lessened due to recent rainfall in late January and February. Link to Wildfire Potential Outlooks from the National Interagency Coordination Center. Seven Day Precipitation Forecast Precipitation is expected over the next seven days across in Southern California. Rapid Onset Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center 8 to 14 day Temperature Outlook and Precipitation Outlook. Ongoing drought conditions will most likely persist across southern California. With precipitation forecast over the next 1-2 weeks, there may be some slight drought improvements shown in the next few weeks on the U.S. Drought Monitor Map. Long-Range Outlooks The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The precipitation and temperature outlooks across southern California for March 2025 are projected to be near normal in most areas except slightly higher than normal precipitation and slightly lower temperature in portions of San Luis Obispo County. Drought Outlook The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage The 1-month drought outlook for March 2025 is for drought conditions to end across San Luis Obispo County and the northern portion of Santa Barbara County and persist across most of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles Counties Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook