All Nevada drought designations are likely to lift by this spring, according to data released Thursday by the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.
Small pockets of Southern Nevada remain under a drought designation, but those are likely to be removed by the end of March. A little more than a year ago, 100 percent of Nevada was in drought.
Lifting the drought designation hinges on a strong El Niño season — forecasters are predicting a 54 percent chance of a “historically strong” El Niño through January. Traditional El Niño patterns favor wetter winters for Southern Nevada.
Since the start of the 2023-24 water year, which began Oct. 1, northeastern Nevada has received anywhere between 100 percent to 150 percent of its median precipitation.
Western and eastern Nevada are sitting at about 50 percent of median precipitation. Southern Nevada has received less than half of its median precipitation.