Tanzi Propst/Park Record Parkites probably don’t need data to know that the area is in a drought — they see closed ski runs, bare hills in Round Valley or the gouges in the bases of their skis from rocks that should be submerged this time of year. But the numbers reveal just how bad the problem is. A hot, dry drought started last April and has reached historic levels, said Glen Merrill, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City who also manages the hydrology program. “90% of the state is in extreme drought and 68% of the state is in exceptional drought, which is the highest drought level,” Merrill said. “… 95% of the time we have more snowpack than we do this year.”