2016 another dry year, 60 % of state in extreme drought
(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,file)
California's 2016 water year ended Friday, marking a fifth consecutive dry year with low snowfall, officials from the Department of Water Resources said.
As state water officials measure it, the "water year" runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 each year.
Officials said that 2016's water year is listed in the record books as "dry" statewide, despite that parts of northern California experienced above-average precipitation.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center sees slightly better than even odds that La Nina conditions will develop this fall and winter, though that does not necessarily mean there will be substantial rainfall, however.
Sixty percent of the state remains in severe or extreme drought, water officials said.