Jan. heat wave brings Calif. drought fears

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- California is experiencing its warmest January on record amid warnings of what officials say could be the worst drought in the state's modern history.

State residents were waiting Saturday to see if the high temperature in Los Angeles would again top 80 degrees Fahrenheit, marking January 2009 as the warmest first month of the year on record, The Los Angeles Daily News reported.

The California Department of Water Resources this week announced that low levels of mountain precipitation this winter have reduced the amount of snowpack available, resulting in low water levels in California's reservoirs with only two months of winter remaining, the newspaper said.

Water conservation plans are likely to be announced in the coming months, experts said, with Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow saying Thursday, "We may be at the start of the worst California drought in modern history."

Elsewhere in the United States, winter weather was the problem. In Kentucky, more than 500,000 residents remained without power Saturday in the wake of a devastating ice storm earlier this week, CNN reported.

"It's going to take some time to dig our way out of this," Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear told the broadcaster.