Northern California — including Woodland — is about to turn the page on the wettest January in 20 years, which begs the question: How much rain will February bring? The answer won’t come for another four weeks, but the entire Northern California region is expected to begin February with another storm system which could drop as much as 3 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.Rain is expected to move into the region late Wednesday, with the heaviest downpours expected Thursday, according to Bob Benjamin, a forecaster with the weather service.

Last week, the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors declared an end to drought conditions in the region and asked California Governor Jerry Brown to rescind the statewide drought emergency regulations for regions with sufficient supplies. Owing to wet winter conditions and recent heavy rainfall, as of January 23, San Diego’s official rainfall measurement station recorded 172 percent of average rainfall since the start of the water year on Oct. 1.

The arrival of rains with the new year have tempered one of California’s most severe ongoing drought periods on record, which officially entered its sixth year in October 2016. The question remains whether California, and Orange County specifically, can see light at the end of the dry tunnel. The historic drought has caused local, regional and state agencies to take unprecedented action to address extraordinary conditions. However, drought or no drought, Californians must reevaluate their relationship with water.