California abnormally dry after low precipitation winter

OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ  Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A winter with little precipitation has left most of California abnormally dry and officials are bracing for the possibility of an early and more intense wildfire season amid record-breaking temperatures. Drought has expanded to nearly a quarter of the state, mainly in central California, the heart of the state's agricultural sector, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor map mad public Thursday. The map shows 70 percent of the state is abnormally dry. February is shaping up to be driest on record for much of the state, with chances of light showers on the horizon on March 1 and then not again until March 10. Sierra Littlefield, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento, said there is a strong chance the state's capi