Usa Today Reports
The potential failure of California's Oroville spillway — which caused nearly 200,000 people to flee their homes late Sunday — is further proof that the punishing five-year drought in the northern part of the state is over.
Oroville Dam holds back swollen Lake Oroville, which is the state's second-largest reservoir and at 100% capacity because of recent heavy rain and snow.
Last month, federal scientists officially declared the drought in northern parts of the state over: "Bye-bye drought. ... Don't let the door hit you on the way out," said the National Weather Service's office in Reno, which monitors parts of Northern California.
Most of the major reservoirs in California are above average, according to the state Department of Water Resources, because of plentiful rain and snow.
How rainy? Sacramento has picked up almost three times as much rain as average this year, and Redding is about twice as soggy as usual in 2017.