The U.S. Drought Monitor report for Thursday, Dec. 30, shows improving conditions throughout the state. Valley News/Courtesy photo
Despite the threat of La Niña, which usually results in a drier-than-average winter for those in the southwest, lasting into February, an abundance of winter storms has brought some much-needed drought relief into the region water officials said recently.“We could not have asked for a better December in terms of Sierra snow and rain,” Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources, said Thursday, Dec. 30.The Department of Water Resources conducted the first snow survey of the season at Phillips Station, Thursday. Early winter storms in December provided a strong start to the season and some drought relief, but California still remains in a drought, DWR said in a news release.The
