Drought officially grips large portion of California

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Drought officially grips large portion of California

The drought which blanketed the Valley for months has now officially gripped a large portion of our state. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Hanford shared a new chart which shows how fast the most extreme level of drought, called an exceptional drought is spreading across California.

Scientists say the drought is causing huge water shortages and increased risks of wildfires. Right now the French Fire and El portal Fire are raging through our region. "We are already in a really bad position and this is just going to worse and worse conditions," said Paul Iniguez.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service are predicting an 80% chance of an El Nino event this year in California. However they say that doesn't mean we'll get much ran in the Central Valley.