Watch CBS News

NWS Report Shows Area Nearing Driest Start Of Year On Record

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — With the Los Angeles river looking more like a trickle, it came as no surprise when the National Weather Service tweeted about the area's lack of rain.

For January and February, combined, downtown L.A. has received less than half an inch. The story was much the same at Los Angeles International Airport and even in Palmdale.

The low rain totals have many concerned about increased drought and fire dangers with summer not that far away.

"We could have a fire hazard, yeah," Pat Aldrete, a Granada Hills resident, said. "And we are getting progressively drier and drier through the years."

But even with the low rainfall totals, and predicted dry weather through the rest of the month, Metropolitan Water District officials said they came into the year with a record amount of water in storage.

"Southern California has built access to a number of different water supplies from around the state and out of the state," Brandon Goshi, a unit manager with the district, said. "And it's not that dry in all of those places at one time. It is dry down here, and it has been since December, but that's certainly not the case in say the Colorado River basin."

The district said it has spent the past two decades preparing to deal with the state's unpredictable rainfall.

"I think our water resources are at the state where we're prepared for those dry conditions, especially in the year-to-year basis like we're seeing here," Goshi said.

And, because of the recent past, people living in Southern California know that conserving water is just part of living here.

"I think we should always do that, should always be conscious of how we use water," a resident said.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.