article_snippet.sent: No snow where there should be feet of it.
article_snippet.sent: For the past few years, that persistent ridge of high pressure has kept the West dry and warm, exacerbating the drought in California, Oregon and Washington.
article_snippet.sent: One of the primary problems is small snow accumulation in the mountains.
article_snippet.sent: In early April, officials measured the snowpack in California at a time when it should be the highest.
article_snippet.sent: This year This year hit an all-time low at 1.4 inches of water content in the snow, just 5% of the annual average.
article_snippet.sent: The previous low for April 1 had been 25% in 1977 and 2014.
article_snippet.sent: (pdf) Gov. Jerry Brown, in announcing water restrictions the same day, stood on a patch of dry, brown grass in the Sierra Nevada mountains that is usually blanketed by up to 5 feet of snow.
article_snippet.sent: Low California snowpack ushers mandatory water restrictions .
article_snippet.sent: With warmer air in California, areas at higher elevations that usually see snow have seen rain instead.  
article_snippet.sent: That has led to the lower snowpack and helped compound the drought.