According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor (July 11), less than 32 percent of the state faces drought conditions and only 1 percent of the state is experiencing “severe” drought. Nowhere in the state are we experiencing “exceptional” or “extreme” drought. Governor Jerry Brown ended the drought state of emergency in most of California on April 7. A year ago, more than 90 percent of the state was in some form of drought. The drought’s end comes thanks in large part to so-called atmospheric rivers (AR) — warm weather systems that flow east from Hawaii and the western Pacific.