Summary

• Extreme March warmth is the dominant signal, with record or near-record temperatures across California and the broader West.
• Hot, dry conditions are accelerating vegetation drying and pushing wildfire season earlier.
• Rapid snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada and other western mountain basins is reducing snowpack and weakening late-season water storage.
• California officials say drought is not yet present because of prior wet winters, but they warn that late spring weather will matter for fire and water conditions.
• Preparedness is increasing through more firefighting staffing, air tankers, helicopters, and smoke-camera monitoring.
• The evidence mixes observed heat events with short-range forecasts, making the current signal partly immediate and partly anticipatory.
• Climate change is treated as a contributing factor that intensifies the likelihood and severity of these extremes.