by Todd Beeton

For those of you in L.A., you know how strange the weather has been this year. January and February were dry as a bone, and April and May have been overcast and breezy -- everything's upside down. And while I have to admit I haven't missed sharing the roads with Angelenos who are incapable of driving when a drop of water has fallen from the sky, the fact is this drought we're experiencing is truly freakish and should cause us all concern.

With downtown Los Angeles seeing a record low of 4 inches of rain since July 2006 -- less than a quarter of normal -- and with a hot, dry summer ahead, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the city needed "to change course and conserve water to steer clear of this perfect storm."

It is the driest year since rainfall records began 130 years ago.

The lowrainfall plus the smaller than average Sierra Nevada snowpack, where L.A. gets much of its water, led the mayor today to call on all L.A. residents to cut water usage by 10% over the summer. While our water supply is not threatened at the moment, the mayor's plea is a pre-emptive measure in the event of prolonged drought.

Per The LA Times, 10 ways to conserve over the flip: