California Likely Headed Into Fourth Year Of Drought As State Suffers One Of Driest Januarys On Record
By Alex Dobuzinskis
LOS ANGELES, Feb 1 (Reuters) - California has experienced one of the driest Januarys on record, and the lack of rain during a time of year when the weather is usually wet indicates the state is likely headed for a fourth straight year of drought, officials said.
A prolonged drought could portend further economic and environmental setbacks for the nation's most populous state, which has already lost both crops and jobs to the dry weather.
The state's driest January on record was in 1984, when the 30-day average precipitation in the state reached 0.33 of an inch (0.84 cm), under one method used to gauge rainfall statewide, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Mathews.
With the official measurement of this January's rainfall coming within a few days, it is shaping up to be the fourth driest January on record in the state, Mathews said.
The low rainfall combined with warmer-than-average temperatures have resulted in a meager snow pack, the California Department of Water Resources said in a statement.
Northern California's Lake Oroville, which is the State Water Project's principal reservoir with a capacity of 3.5 million acre feet (432,000 hectare meters), stands at about 60 percent of the average for this date, officials said.
Sacramento recorded only 0.01 of an inch (0.03 cm) of rain in January, the lowest since record-keeping began in 1877, the Sacramento office of the Weather Service said on Facebook. Stockton and Modesto also set records for the month, it said.
This drought not only effects Californians and surrounding states, but also the rest of the United States. This is because Californian crops being diminished due to lack of water, resulting in a loss of agricultural economic growth, or even balance. California is home to many types of produce items which are sold throughout the country. Without water and adequate soil for crops to grow, people are losing jobs and the Californian economy is weakening.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/01/california-drought_n_6589316.html?utm_hp_ref=extreme-weather
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