Drought

KTVU's Rosemary Orozco said the first system would hit in the morning and quickly leave.

The rubber dam, typically inflated in spring or early summer when demand for potable water increases, is being put to use now because of the lack of measurable rainfall in February and warm temperatures, coupled with increased water demand at a time when the river is relatively low.

February is shaping up to be driest on record for much of the state, with chances of light showers on the horizon on March 1 and then not again until March 10.

On a hillside next to Highway 17 in Los Gatos, dozens of state and contract workers are clearing dry and dead brush. Captain John Byrne of Cal Fire says the bone-dry month of February is both a blessing and a curse.

Last year's photo showed a lot of white snow over the Sierra. This year's photo showed a lot of brown and green hills.

With no rain all month, February is on track to be one of the driest on record so far in the region, and newly released side by side satellite images show just how dire the snowpack level is in the Sierra Nevada. 

Two months ago, the U.S. Drought Monitor categorized more 81% of the state as abnormally dry because of above-normal temperatures and a lack of precipitation six weeks into the water year that started Oct. 1. The percentage climbed to 85% as recently as last week.

Trolling off the California coast, Sarah Bates leans over the side of her boat and pulls out a long, silvery fish prized by anglers and seafood lovers: wild king salmon.

When California’s historic drought mandated that residents take shorter showers, cut back on watering their lawns and give up washing their cars, folks in San Jose did their part to save water. 

Come summer many in the Bay Area wonder: Will there be water restrictions? Probably not. 

The U.S. Drought Monitor says a rainy fall has helped pull nearly one-fourth of California out of the state's five-year drought.

New wildfires erupted Monday near Los Angeles and chased people from their suburban homes as an intense heatwave stretching from the West Coast to New Mexico blistered the region.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told California voters Friday that he can solve their water crisis, declaring, "There is no drought."