Storms Double Fresno Rainfall; Drought Declared Over Through March

After a series of storms that soaked the region, Fresno woke to clearing skies on January 5 as the soggy ground began to dry. Rain gauge totals for the 2025-26 water year reached 7.05 inches in the city, roughly 201 percent of normal and more than twice the accumulation at the same point last year. That surge in precipitation has helped push statewide conditions out of drought, according to the Climate Prediction Center, which projects the drought-free status will likely hold through at least the end of March.

The National Weather Service office in Hanford is forecasting sunny to partly sunny skies over the coming week. Temperatures are expected to peak near 60 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, then settle into daily highs in the low 50s with overnight lows in the high 30s to low 40s for the remainder of the week. Forecast guidance indicates the next significant chance for rain may not arrive until around January 19, creating a two-week window of relatively dry weather for cleanup and recovery.

Snowpack and reservoir indicators are also favorable. Southern Sierra snowpack measured near 114 percent of normal, supplying a stronger-than-average base for spring runoff. Key Central Valley reservoirs, including Pine Flat, San Luis and Millerton Lake, are reporting healthy levels for this time of year. Those conditions reduce some near-term water supply stress for urban and agricultural users, and they give reservoir managers greater flexibility for flood control operations and groundwater recharge planning as runoff progresses.

For Fresno County residents, the shift brings practical consequences. Homeowners and local crews can use the dry spell to address storm damage, clear clogged drains and assess landscaping impacted by saturated soils. Foothill visitors should remain aware that trails and access roads can still be muddy or unstable even as surface drying proceeds; checking current road conditions before travel to higher elevations is advisable.

Policy and operational decisions by water agencies and local authorities now will determine how best to translate the improved metrics into sustained resilience. While short-term drought relief is tangible, water managers will continue monitoring snowpack, inflows and reservoir storage in the weeks ahead to guide allocations, recharge efforts and flood risk mitigation as warming and melt patterns develop.