Driest Jan-Feb Period On Record In California's Northern Sierra - SacBee
California is poised to shatter an all-time weather record by notching the driest January-February period in recorded history across the northern Sierra Nevada.
The northern Sierra is crucial to statewide water supplies because it is where snowmelt accumulates to fill Shasta and Oroville reservoirs. These are the largest reservoirs in California and the primary storage points for state and federal water supply systems.
If February concludes without additional storms – and none are expected – the northern Sierra will have seen 2.2 inches of precipitation in January and February, the least since record-keeping began in the region in 1921. That is well below the historical average of 17.1 inches.
The dry conditions have not been limited to the northern Sierra. January and February have produced 1.32 inches of rain in the city of Sacramento, ranking as the third driest since record-keeping began in 1850, said Johnnie Powell, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
EDIT
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/27/5220561/california-starts-year-with-record.html
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