For many areas in California, 2013 was the driest year. Fresno had its driest year ever recorded in 2013, according to meteorologists at the National Weather Service's forecast office in Hanford.
Fresno received only 3.01 inches of rainfall in the last calendar year--only 26 percent of what is normal.
Although Governor Jerry Brown has not declared a drought, some meteorologists and farmers think it should be otherwise.
California is expected to continue to receive below-average levels of precipitation through March, according to the U.S. seasonal drought outlook report.
Central California is experiencing extreme drought-like conditions, said Cindy Bean, a meteorologist with the NWS in Hanford, as she referenced the U.S. Drought Monitor for California.
California could be entering its third straight dry year. The Central Valley's rainy season, which began in October, hasn't gotten off to a good start.
"We're halfway through that period. So we have to hope that we turn wet in January, February, March. Maybe hope for that March miracle to give us a lot of rainfall," Bean said.
To put last year's rainfall in Fresno into perspective, meteorologists compare that to Fresno's wettest year, 1983, which received 21.6 inches of rainfall.
Those in the agriculture industry are feeling the trickle down effects. Reduced water allocations can affect what kind of crops farmers can grow.
"So we have been idling the land for a couple of years anticipating that we're going into drought years and saving our water," said Joe Delbosque, a farmer in Firebaugh.
He's had to leave one of his fields unplanted. The field, which is dedicated to row crops, requires more water.
As farmers look for ways to conserve water, they're already looking for future challenges if this dry trend continues.
"We're extremely concerned about 2014, but 2015 could easily be a catastrophe," Delbosque said.
Less rainfall is also concerning to those fighting fires above the valley floor.
By this time of year, new vegetation should be growing, but the lack of rainfall is creating extremely dry, dangerous conditions," said Capt. Ryan Michaels with Fresno County Cal Fire.
"It's throughout California that people need to have that elevated level of concern for wild land fires and the potential for it to be very devastating," Michaels said.
The state's first snow pack survey will be done Friday. It measures the amount of water that will flow into reservoirs.