California facing worst drought in approximately 100 years

California Gov. Jerry Brown declared an emergency drought earlier this morning, stating that California is facing what may possibly be “the worst drought that California has ever seen since records began being kept about 100 years ago.”

With 2013 having been California’s driest year on record with the least rainfall, 2014 has kicked off on a dry start as well. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 63 percent of the state is in extreme drought conditions, and precipitation for the water year, which begins on October 1, is less than 21 percent of normal levels, according to Roonte.

During his announcement, Brown encouraged residents to willingly conserve their water. However, he also noted that his administration is weighing the possibility of putting a mandatory conservation order into place.

“I think the drought emphasizes that we do live in an era of limits, that nature has its boundaries,” said Brown.

While no mandatory conservation orders have yet gone into effect, forecasts do believe that should the dry spell continue, it could further intensify the steadily increasing fire danger.