The state agency charged with forecasting water conditions in California said Thursday residents must be prepared for both dry conditions and flood risks over the coming year. The Department of Water Resources previewed the “water year” beginning Oct. 1 by drawing attention to both the record hot summer across much of California and a looming La Niña pattern in the Pacific Ocean that typically results in drought. The agency said there is no precipitation in the current forecast, but what water California does receive will arrive from more powerful storms, and hotter temperatures will mean less winter precipitation falls as snow and more will arrive as rain, increasing the flood risk.

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• ABC 7 Los Angeles: What’s in store for California’s new water year? Experts say ‘extremes are getting more extreme’