<p>California is in the midst of its driest year on record, with no relief in sight. California has experienced dry winters for the past two years and the result has been a depletion of water reserves. Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is also minimal this year, according to USA Today.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"Soil moisture is depleted, reservoir storage is down and even if we had average rainfall statewide, we probably wouldn't see average runoff just because soil moisture is so depleted," California Department of Water Resources deputy drought manager Jeanine Jones said last week.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that 94.25% of the state of California is experiencing drought conditions and that most of the Central Valley is in a condition of extreme drought. There have been drought conditions in at least 90% of the state since early May. According to the Drought Monitor, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada are also experiencing drought conditions.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Meteorologist Jan Null of Golden Gate Weather Services, a private firm, has explained that a large blocking ridge of high pressure in the east Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Alaska is causing a lack of rain and snow in California this year. Apparently the ridge diverts storms towards the middle of the country and to the East. According to the Weather Prediction Center, this phenomenon is expected to continue, and no rain or snow is in the forecast for at least the next seven days anywhere in California.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">While a drought emergency has not yet been officially declared, a lack of rain and snow this season could be devastating to California agriculture. State agencies are expected to reduce water allotments unless there are a series of unexpected heavy storms.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Earlier this month, several federal and California lawmakers asked CA Gov. Jerry Brown and President Obama to declare an official drought emergency and a federal disaster in California.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"We have had two years of dry conditions that have depleted our reservoirs and reduced carry-over storage to historically low levels not seen since 1977,'' Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) wrote in the letter to Brown and Obama.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">California Governor Jerry Brown has initiated an interagency task force to monitor and address the issue of a potential state-wide drought declaration.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">If extreme drought conditions cause the state or federal governments to declare an emergency, cost recovery programs do exist under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). However, it is unclear how long growers could expect to wait before their losses would be recouped. Crop insurance may also pay California farmers if their crops cannot be harvested due to lack of resources. However, the potential effects of crop losses from the Central Valley could be more profound.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/12/26/california-drought-water-shortage-wildfires/4192275/" target="_new"> USA Today </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
