Two of the nation’s worst drought areas saw significant improvement in January thanks to several rounds of quenching precipitation in recent weeks. Several rounds of heavy rain and snow have brought a major reduction to the drought in Southern California, while a stormy pattern also brought beneficial rain to areas of the South. As a result, the U.S. Drought Monitor released January 26 revealed the Lower 48 has no area in exceptional drought, the worst category possible, for the first time since April 4, 2011.