San Luis Obispo County is no longer in drought

March 2, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

The latest round of storms that pounded San Luis Obispo County brought some good news, the county is no longer considered in drought, according to a map published on Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

In Nov. 2022, SLO County was in moderate to extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. As of Feb. 28, while no portion of the county is in drought, a strip along the Kern County border is listed “abnormally dry.”

California’s snowpack is 181% of normal for this time of year. As the weather warms and the snow melts in the spring and the summer, it will flow into rivers that feed the state’s larger reservoirs further easing remaining drought conditions.

Current SLO County and major state reservoir levels:

  • Santa Margarita Lake at 105.4%, SLO County
  • Lake Nacimiento at 89%, SLO County
  • Lopez Lake at 62.6%, SLO County
  • Whale Rock Reservoir at 92.54%, SLO County
  • Cachuma Lake at 99%, Santa Barbara County
  • San Antonio Lake at 42%, Monterey County
  • Oroville Dam 73%, Butte County
  • Trinity Lake at 33%, Trinity County
  • Don Pedro Reservoir at 77%, Mariposa County
  • Shasta Dam at 60%, Shasta County
  • San Luis Reservoir at 77%, Merced County

Loading...
3 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Just because the lakes fill, does not mean we are out of the weather pattern causing the drought.


Give me year ’round springs and have the aquifer fill up, is a much better indication of drought easing.


Before that declaration is made, let’s wait till Lopez is spilling at 520+ feet!


Excellent, now we can build more housing in this County!