A rainy October in Northern California has lifted about a quarter of the state out of drought conditions, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported Thursday. It’s the rosiest picture released by federal officials since the spring of 2013, when about 64% of the state was considered to be in “moderate drought” — or worse. The rains so far this fall have given some weather watchers reason for optimism as California braces for a potential sixth year of drought. But much of Central and Southern California remain locked in what the drought monitor calls “exceptional or extreme drought.”