The winter brought near above normal snow amounts to the Sierra and there was rain in Northern California but since March, the story has been dry, dry, dry.

In fact, April was the driest month in Sacramento, Stockton and Modesto since 1949, according to the National Weather Service. One hundredth of an inch of rain was recorded in Sacramento and Stockton last month. Modesto received just a trace of rain.

As a state, California has just had its driest two-month period on record, according to the state Department of Water Resources (DWR).

DWR hydrologists Thursday found Sierra snowpack water content averaging only 67 percent of normal throughout the 400-mile-long mountain range.

Levels were 88 percent of normal in the northern Sierra and about 60 percent of normal in the central and southern regions.

At Echo Summit just west of Lake Tahoe, scientists measured 3.3 inches of snow in a meadow. That's only 11 percent of what is expected there at this time of year.

Drought Conditions Ahead?
The dry spring may be a harbinger of a dry summer ahead. Wednesday, the city of Rosville declared a Stage 1 drought alert because its water allocation from Folsom Reservoir has been reduced by 25 percent. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation informed Roseville as well as several other contractors that their requested water amounts were being cut because of less-than-expected snow runoff, an already below-average reservoir water level because of a dry 2006-2007 winter and other water obligations.

In the Bay Area, East Bay and San Francisco utility agencies are considering water rationing and conservation measures, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.