Continued rain and snow across California has lifted nearly half of the state out of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.  Just over 51% of California remains in “moderate” to “extreme” drought, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported. By comparison, more than 95% of the state was listed as being in some form of drought a year ago. And in another positive development, none of the state was listed as being in “exceptional drought” — a condition that had affected portions of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern counties as recently as a month ago.