“For parts of Western Oregon and large part of northern California, this is the driest January to April on record,” writes the National Weather Service. For all of Mendocino and most of Trinity and Humboldt in these first four months of the year, rainfall is the lowest ever seen.

The Weather Service points out that, of course there could be more precipitation in the coming weeks, but, they write, it “will take a lot of rain to shorten our deficit. Unfortunately, long range outlooks calls for little change, with below normal precipitation into mid-summer.”

For gardeners wanting to decrease their consumption of water, local groups have put out a Best Management Practices guide that is hosted here on LoCO.  (Scroll to page 4 for the section on water.)