By Brian Lada, Meteorologist
March 4,2014; 3:31PM,EST
A dry weather pattern has returned to much of California after the recent spell of rainy weather, leaving residents wondering when they will see rain again.
Although no major storms are on the horizon, moisture streaming over the Pacific Northwest will occasionally dip southward, bringing a few opportunities for rain in northern and central California through next week.
Despite some rain in the forecast, it does not appear like it will be enough to have a meaningful impact on the severe drought gripping nearly all of the state.
Rounds of rain will be seen over northern portions of the state through midweek with the moisture taking its first dip southward on Thursday. This will bring the next chance of rain to cities such as San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and Redding.
This swath of moisture looks to depart the region by Friday before diving southward once again on Sunday, affecting the same areas.
After this second push, it does not appear like any rain will be seen over the state until at least the end of next week, possibly longer.
Unfortunately, this rain is not forecast to reach Southern California, keeping cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego dry all the way through next week.
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One of the benefits to the rain-free weather in Southern California is that residents will not have to battle the elements when cleaning up after the recent storms.
As beneficial as the rain was from these storms, they did cause flash flooding and mudslides over the area late last week and over the weekend that put lives and properties at risk.
According to the most recent report form the U.S Drought Monitor, nearly 75 percent of the state is in an extreme drought.
"Yes, it was nice to get a good sized storm. But the state is nowhere near out of the woods," said AccuWeather.com Western Weather Expert Ken Clark.
With little to no rain on the horizon over the next week and a half, drought conditions will only worsen across California before the state enters their dry season.
"The drought in California did not just develop this year, or in the last 12 months, but over the last three years. It is unrealistic to think one series of storms is going to have a huge impact on the long-term drought," said Clark.
If the pattern does not yield more rain over California before the summer, the risk of wildfires will likely increase dramatically, putting even more lives and property at risk.
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