Across the state, reservoirs that were alarmingly parched last year are close to full and in some cases, over capacity. The snowpack — which keeps the water flowing into the early summer as the snow melts — was at 163 percent above normal as of Friday. The United States Drought Monitor for this week reported that 42 percent of the state, mostly the northern part, was not suffering from drought conditions; that compares with 3 percent one year ago.

“Most of the state’s precipitation and snowpack are far above average, boding well for this water year,” Jay Lund, the director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis, wrote in a blog post about the changing conditions. “In terms of surface water, most of California is no longer in drought.”

Some people, looking for a ray of hope, seized on the phrase “no longer in drought.” Yet Mr. Lund’s point — and those of most people who have observed this drought over the years — is significantly nuanced. For one thing, winter, which is the wet season, is not even half over yet. Many years have started off wet and gone completely dry.

For another, climate change has produced a steady uptick in temperatures, which means that the snowpack might not survive the start of summer. And there are still parts of the state that are suffering: the southern part of Tulare County and Santa Barbara.