Dry season threatens farmers, return of salmon to San Joaquin River
Even though the wetter half of California's winter is still ahead, it's hard to ignore the historic dry spell taking shape. The statewide snowpack is 15% of average for early January. This winter is mirroring the terrible 1976-1977 season -- the driest time on record.
Powerful Santa Ana winds have died down across Southern California, and forecasters say a new weather system from the west could bring some relief from bone-dry conditions.
Dry December a bad sign for rain outlook in Fresno
Only once in the past 134 years has Fresno gone without December rain. This is shaping up to be the second time. And when December is dry, there's a good chance rainfall will come in sprinkles instead of buckets in the next few months, meteorologists say.
The Bee's story-comment system is provided by Disqus. To read more about it, see our Disqus FAQ page. If you post comments, please be respectful of other readers. Your comments may be removed and you may be blocked from commenting if you violate our terms of service. Comments flagged by the system as potentially abusive will not appear until approved by a moderator.