Brown to declare California drought emergency as Western water woes intensify

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/01/17/brown-to-declare-california-drought-emergency-as-western-water-woes-intensify/

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) will use a morning news conference in San Francisco on Friday to declare a drought emergency amid one of the driest winters on record.
The declaration comes a month after Brown appointed a panel to assess the situation and make recommendations. Several members of Congress, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), had pushed Brown to declare the emergency. During a two-day swing through California to push his budget proposal last week, Brown faced calls from local legislators to speed aid to their constituents.
More than 90 percent of California is experiencing severe drought conditions. Last year, dozens of cities in California set new records for lowest levels of precipitation; Occidential, Big Sur and Crescent, Calif., all recorded rain totals 30 to 40 inches below average, according to National Weather Service statistics.

Those Crop reports will be something to be reckoned with for sure going forward.