1-11-12
Merced Sun-Star
Dry January raises concern over drought in northern California…Matt Weiser
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/01/11/v-print/2186343/dry-january-raises-concern-over.html
The dreaded D-word – "drought" – is back on the tongues of many Californians now that a dry December has crawled into a dry January.
A dry December is not that unusual. But a dry January – well along into winter and usually the state's wettest month – is another matter.
"What is unusual is that it just hangs on and on and on," said Maury Roos, chief hydrologist at the California Department of Water Resources, noting it will be hard to recover from the missed January storms.
"It's not impossible, but it's quite unlikely we'll make it back to normal before the end of the season," Roos said.
Sacramento has had no rain since Dec. 15, and only a trace on that day: 0.07 inches.
Lake Tahoe – so dependent on snowfall for its winter economy – has fared just as badly. South Lake Tahoe has seen no measurable precipitation since Nov. 20, according to National Weather Service data.
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