California prepares for 3rd dry year after few winter storms

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Drought-stricken California is facing another year of parched conditions and pleas for conservation as the winter comes to a close with little rain and snow.

State water officials are preparing Friday to tell urban and agricultural water agencies that they will get even less water from state supplies than planned when the year began. Major reservoirs remain below normal levels, and Californians aren't saving as much water as state officials hoped.

The state may end the month recording the driest January through March in at least a century. The drought in the nation's most populous state is part of a megadrought gripping the U.S. West.