Are ya sitting down? California is drought-free for the first time in about 25 years. According to the CA Department of Water Resources, this is the first time this has happened in a generation.
If you’ve wondered did the wettest December in decades really pay off, the answer is yes.
West Hollywood doesn’t have its own official climate station, so the closest “how wet has it been” snapshot comes from nearby gauges. Two we like to cite a lot, Hollywood Reservoir and Beverly Hills, have been running well ahead of what we’re used to by early January. Both locations are reporting record rainfall, meaning, as they go WeHo goes.
What the local gauges are showing so far this season
The National Weather Service tracks rainfall by “water year,” which runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
- Hollywood Reservoir: The LADWP station gauge is showing – season to date – 15.29 as of 1 p.m. Jan. 9. Season average is 16.92 inches.
- Beverly Hills: Using NWS station totals compiled by L.A. Almanac, Beverly Hills has picked up about 16.08 inches since Oct. 1 (including 2.70 inches in January so far, through Jan. 6). That’s a close-in gauge that tracks pretty well with what much of West Hollywood has been living through.
- Bel Air is coming in at 17.12 inches so far out of a season average of 18.61 inches per year.
- As of January 9, DTLA has recorded 14.20 inches of rain. This is remarkable because the normal rainfall for an entire 12-month season in DTLA is 14.25 inches; LA has essentially reached its annual quota in just over three months.
- In Malibu, the numbers are equally significant, coming in with a record 12.91 inches of rain to date. The season average for Malibu is typically 15.66 inches.
Different neighborhoods will always vary storm to storm, but the big picture is pretty much the same all over LA: we’ve had a lot of rain, in a short window.
Good news, bad news
Even though our drought-free milestone is cause for celebration, unfortunately, history has shown the same climate pattern that can ease a drought (or in this case, erase) can also flip the script and bring the kind of heat that evaporates our good fortune fast.
A warmer atmosphere pulls more moisture out of the ground and dries plants during our many dry stretches. Then we have the explosion of grass and brush that provides fuel for the fires when a hot, windy dry spell returns — as we know it will. In other words, we can be looking good today and still be staring at dangerous fire weather a few months from now, depending on how spring and early summer go.
Climate scientist Daniel Swain told the LA Times that while it is okay to take a breather we should expect weather swings to increase here in California. Even though it seems counterintuitive, climate change is forecast to lead to both more intense droughts and more intense episodes of rainfall. This is because a warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, which is then released in fewer, more extreme rainstorms. Scientists have coined a name for this phenomenon—the atmospheric sponge effect—which Swain says is why we’re likely to see bigger swings between extremely wet and extremely dry patterns.
An example of this was the run-up to the Palisades and Eaton fires. In 2022 and 2023, California experienced extremely wet winters, with Mammoth Mountain setting an all-time snowfall record. However, Southern California then had one of the driest periods on record in the fall and winter of 2024, creating the conditions that helped to fuel the 2025 fires. This is a scary reminder that we do not need to be in a notable multiyear drought for the next hot, wind driven event to unleash Hell on earth.
For now, though, it’s OK — take the breather. Enjoy the beautiful green hillsides. Just don’t confuse it with a new normal. It’s not. If you live in a fire prone area, and who are we kidding, we all do, be prepared. Be ready to clear your hillside of brush and always have an evac plan ready to go,
So what now, when’s the next real chance of rain?
The National Weather Service forecast for LA West Hollywood and nearby areas sitting in a dry pattern with sunny days and a warming trend into next week. In Friday’s forecast, NWS forecasters said there’s no meaningful rain expected through at least Jan. 23.
It doesn’t mean winter is over. In fact, February is often our wettest month. It just means we’re pressing pause on the rain button – for now.
