<p>California has been hit by the first of two much needed winter storms for the week, bringing rains and snow to the drought stricken state. The second more powerful storm to move into the state on Friday, could bring heavier rain and snow.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The storm that moved through the area overnight brought up to 16 inches of snow in areas of the Sierra Nevadas as well as rain throughout the valley and southern California, as reported by the National Weather Service. The recent storm is helping to take the edge off the year’s record low snowpack as well. But how much? We will just have to wait to see.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>On Wednesday electronic readings showed that water content in the statewide snowpack was only at 23 percent of normal and 19 percent of the average April 1st seasonal total.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>State water officials are planning to survey the mountain snow pack today to gauge just how much relief is being brought by this recent storm.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">With California’s Central Valley providing hundreds of thousands of acres of the most productive farmland in the country, the U.S. Drought Monitor today revealed that more than a quarter of California - 26.21 percent - falls into the "exceptional drought category" while the remainder of the state - 73 percent - is in the "extreme drought category."</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The California snowpack is often called California’s largest reservoir and can normally provide nearly a third of the water used by cities and farms as it feeds into streams and reservoirs in spring and early summer, according to NBC Los Angeles.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The weather system moved down from Northern California, bringing with it up to an inch of rain in coastal and valley areas of Los Angeles County, as well as about an inch of rain around California’s Bay Area, according to AZCentral.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The larger one expected for Friday could bring mudslides northeast of Los Angeles, because the area sits at the foot of the steep San Gabriel Mountains where a wildfire last month stripped nearly 2,000 acres.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>“Residents located near burn areas should be alert for the potential of mud and debris flows Friday through Saturday,” forecasters said.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we follow the drought impact and possible relief in California. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
