The latest United States Drought Monitor Report was released this morning and it's more bad news for Kern County. Most of our area is now classified as "Severe Drought" status.

According to the report, "Exacerbating the situation has been the very poor Water Year, with precipitation-to-date totaling less than 25 percent of normal over large tracts of southern California and the Southwest; Severe Drought (D2) was expanded accordingly to reflect the driest areas."

In the long range forecast, the report lines up with what NWS Climatologists are predicting, saying what while "a series of storms will bring moderate to heavy rain and mountain snow to much of the west, although unfavorably dry conditions will persist from California into western Nevada."