LOS ANGELES — The months of January and February were the driest ever recorded in most of California this year, and state water officials are now sounding the alarm for a third year of severe drought, shrinking water supplies and the growing threat of extreme wildfire.
The California Department of Water Resources announced Tuesday that statewide snowpack had dwindled to 63% of average for this time of year, following an extraordinarily dry start to the year.
That sobering assessment came during the third snowpack survey of the season at Phillips Station near South Lake Tahoe. The reading marked a tumble from the initial survey at the end of December — when statewide snowpack measured 160% of average — and from the second survey last month, when it measured 92% of average.
