Yes, it's hard to gripe much about weather that allows you to wear shorts in January – a fashion statement that many in California have recently embraced.

For people who like mild weather, the numerous dry and sunny days of late have been a blessing, but the lack of wind and rain comes with some downsides.

A big one is dirty air, which is a particular health threat for children and people with asthma and other respiratory diseases. Today, like Monday, is another day in the Sacramento area when all wood burning is banned. Because of the stagnant air, there have been only three legal burning days since Dec. 7.

Based on the forecast for more high-pressure systems with light winds, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality District says that wood burning will be banned or restricted in the county through the end of February. "This type of weather system traps pollution like a lid on a bowl," the district says.

In other words, it's time to snuff out those yuletide fires. Don't wait until your neighbors rat on you, which is a possibility.

The situation is even worse for the San Joaquin Valley, where residents are suffering through the worst air quality in a dozen years. The 4 million people who live in the 200 miles between Stockton and Bakersfield have to deal with the nation's worst ozone, but usually enjoy some fresh air during the winter.

The dangerously high levels of particulates this winter should spur officials to heed long-standing calls from air-quality advocates to look seriously at agricultural sources of pollution and tractor-trailer rigs, as well as fireplace soot. While burning bans may be the least painful to enforce, they may not be enough to ensure healthy air.

Continued dry weather could also eventually become a water problem.

While most reservoirs hold above-average supplies, and state officials say it's too early to fret, the contrast from last winter is stark.

The season's first snow survey, done last week, found the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack at just 19 percent of average, one of the lowest readings on record. On the same date last year, the snowpack was 212 percent of normal.

Because of last year's wet winter, state officials are still promising 60 percent of contract water deliveries to 29 local agencies that buy from the State Water Project and serve more than 25 million Californians.

Still, farmers in the Valley are having to irrigate crops weeks sooner than normal; some have been unable to plant at all, the California Farm Bureau Federation says.

Ski resorts in the Sierra are also having a hard time. Some still don't have enough snow to open, and those that did report significant drops in visitors.

So it would be nice if Mother Nature smiled on California with some rain and snow – preferably in steady, manageable amounts – in the next few weeks. If the precipitation mostly spares weekends, all the better.

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