After El Niño failed to deliver salvation from California’s epic drought, it has now come to this:

Statewide, snowpack is down to just 6 percent of normal for this time of year.

For all intent and purposes, this vital source of water for tens of millions of Californians, and one of the world’s most productive agricultural economies, has vanished prematurely. The culprit: a sunny and warm spring.

And with La Niña probably on the way, things could get worse before they get better.