Photo: Getty Images North America
California is plunging deeper into drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map now shows a third of the state in exceptional drought, the most severe level. That's up from 26% last week. 100% of the state has been in some level of drought for the past two weeks, compared to less than half a-year-ago. Most of the Bay Area is in the driest category, along with several southeastern and Central Valley counties. A growing number of jurisdictions are either asking residents to conserve or making it mandatory.
According to CNN, the state recently experienced warm temperatures 3-6 degrees above normal, according to the drought monitoring website, which predicted that the warmth would continue through the week.