How bad is the drought? Here are some sobering answers.

1/31

More than 600 empty docks sit on dry, cracked dirt at Folsom Lake Marina, one of the largest inland marinas in California. As the state ended 2014 with no guarantee of significant rain and snow this winter, Californians face the prospect of stricter rationing and meager irrigation deliveries for agriculture.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

2/31

Researcher Blair McLaughlin, left, and Andrew Weitz, right, walk through Blue Oak trees looking for trees affected by the drought near Shandon, Calif.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

3/31

Passing storm clouds provide the backdrop for an early morning walk on the sand at the Santa Ana River inlet in Newport Beach.

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

4/31

A crew from Smartgrass Synthetic Turf rolls up a pre-measured piece of artificial grass for installation in the backyard of a home in Pacific Palisades.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

5/31

Rancher Bill Talbot opens a gate on his family’s leased ranch land near Bishop, Calif. Several ranchers are reducing their herds due to the drought.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

6/31

As the California drought grinds into its fourth year, the barren shoreline of Shasta Lake shows the steady drop in water level. The reservoir on the Sacramento River holds about 40% of the federal Central Valley Project’s stored supply.

(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

7/31

Cindy Lazaris of the Catalina Island Conservancy walks along cracked earth that used to form the bottom of the Thompson (Middle Ranch) Reservoir, which has shrunk to a level which may cause the city of Avalon to cut its water usage by 50%.

(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

8/31

Los Angeles area residents could be required to cover swimming pools due to the drought.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

9/31

Exposed shoreline shows low water levels at Castaic Lake.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

10/31

From an inspection boat in February 2014, San Gabriel Dam operators Herbert Romero, center, and Jose Aguilar use a measuring tape to determine that the depth of San Gabriel Reservoir near the dam is 50 feet deep. The lingering drought has exposed more than 121 feet of the reservoir’s shoreline. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

11/31

Water rings mark receding levels of the Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

12/31

Lack of snow in a view from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

13/31

Severe drought conditions reveal dry-docked boats in a parking lot and over 600 empty docks sitting on dry, cracked dirt at Folsom Lake Marina, which is one of the largest inland marinas in California. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

14/31

Sunset’s glow illuminates the skyline and receding water due to severe drought conditions at Folsom Lake State Recreational Area. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

15/31

The effects of California’s ongoing drought are evident in the dry, cracked banks leftover from dropping water levels at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

16/31

Sunrise highlights patterns of sand that remain after the water receded at the drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

17/31

The surrounding land is testimony to the effects of drought on the depleted Pine Flat Reservoir. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

18/31

Irrihgation water floods the floor of a date palm grove in the Coachella Valley. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians’ court battle with two water agencies is one of several legal disputes over water that are being fought across California. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

19/31

CKen Gray of the Coachella Valley Water District kneels at a flume at one of many basins at the Thomas E. Levy Groundwater Replenishment Facility. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

20/31

Earthen patterns are left behind from the receding waters of the drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

21/31

In July 2014, marina owner Elaine Newton walks with her daughter Ashleigh Newton along docks and boat ramps that are now idle at Huntington Lake due to historically low water levels caused by the drought. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

22/31

Patchy snow is all that’s on the ground at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park in January. The snow is normally much deeper at that time of year. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

23/31

In January 2014, cattle rancher Rob Frost surveys the remains of an animal that died due to drought conditions on grazing land near Santa Paula, where the grass is normally 6 to 10 inches high this time of year. Frost says in an ordinary year he will lose 1% of his cattle to natural causes but he is now losing nearly 10%. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

24/31

President Obama visits Los Banos, Calif., in February 2014 to see drought conditions. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

25/31

A lone fisherman waiting for a bite paces across a large portion of dry lake bed due to severe drought conditions at Folsom Lake. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

26/31

At drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir in October 2014, patterns are revealed by receding waters. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

27/31

Sunrise in October 2014 highlights patterns of sand amid puddles that remain at drought-stricken Pine Flat Reservoir in Sanger, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

28/31

City of Santa Barbara public works department intern Devon Schmidt steps along the shoreline in February after checking the intake weir for the city’s desalination plant. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

29/31

In October 2014, rancher Jon Pedotti walks on the parched, cracked lake bed of his 1,561-acre ranch along San Simeon Creek in the Santa Lucia Mountain foothills of Cambria. Of the lake, which fed water to his 280 cattle, he said: “It’s never been this dry.” (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

30/31

A dead lawn in Parkwood, Calif., in September 2014 after a well failed and the town had to import water. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

31/31

Muddy water gushes out of a newly drilled well in July 2014 serving a farm in Terra Bella, Calif. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

By Matt Stevens

Oct. 1, 2015 8:01 AM PT

Conservation numbers for California come out Thursday. Residents have been seriously saving water in the last few months, spurred by severe drought conditions. The savings have proven a big bright side to a tough year.

So how bad is the drought? Here are some sobering answers.

IT WAS DRY...

The lack of rain and snow hit California water supplies hard. The Sierra snowpack’s water content measured just 5% of normal, obliterating the previous record low of 25%.

The snowpack’s sorry condition was what differentiated 2015 from previous years, said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board. (Snowpack is important because when it melts, it refills the state’s reservoirs during the hot summer months.)

Water supplies were cut, wells ran dry and reservoir levels plummeted. Here’s how far below normal some are:

Lake Shasta (59%)

Lake Oroville (48%)

Trinity Lake (33%)

Folsom Lake (32%)

New Melones (20%)

AND WAS HOT...

The 2015 water year also saw the highest average temperature in 120 years of record-keeping. According to the California Climate Tracker, the state’s average temperature was 58.4 degrees — more than three degrees warmer than average and almost a full degree warmer than the previous high in 1995-96.

...AND HEAT WORSENS THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS

The biggest impact of warmer temperatures has been that they intensify the effects of drought, increasing evaporation and drying out the soil.

NEWSLETTER: Get your free weekly guide to the drought>>

“The character of this drought has been to have record and near-record temperatures,” state climatologist Michael L. Anderson said. “This drought is definitely warmer than its 20th-century counterparts. And when you run into that, you have a higher demand for water and a limited supply, so it creates greater stress.”

The lack of runoff has also reduced stream flow, creating dangerous conditions for native fish.

...AND THOSE CONDITIONS ALSO FUELED FIRES

In recent months, two of the most destructive wildfires in state history have raged across Northern California. According to federal statistics, a total of 813,163 acres have burned across the state this calendar year.

The lack of precipitation has dried out vegetation, driving fuel moisture to critically low levels.

“Four years of such parched conditions have predisposed the vegetation to be explosive, and that’s not exaggerating — it’s explosive,” said Ken Pimlott, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “The [calendar] year hasn’t ended yet, and it’s comparing right up there with some of the most devastating fire seasons on record.”

MORE ON DROUGHT:

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California voters hopeful that El Niño will ease drought, poll finds

Water, 2015, California: The no-good, very bad year -- now, ‘pray for rain’