The natural mountain storage of summer meltwater is significantly below normal.
Published May 17, 2015
Mount Shasta is usually snow-capped. But this winter, it is a lot more brown than white, as drought deepens in California.
Published Jan 17, 2014
A cold spring and unusually snowy winter led to this uncommon view of winter snow on Utah’s Uinta Mountains in July.
Published Jul 22, 2011
Acquired December 19, 2012, this natural-color image shows snow cover stretching across multiple states in the western United States.
Published Dec 21, 2012
The water stored as snow in the 400-mile long range is now 185 percent of normal for the beginning of March.
Published Mar 3, 2017
In mid-September 2015, water stored near the surface and underground in the U.S. West was far-below-normal.
Published Sep 18, 2015
More than 64 million people are directly affected by drought in the Southwest and Southern Plains, and far more are indirectly affected because of the vast number of farms, orchards, and ranches that supply the rest of the United States.
Published Nov 27, 2014
What a difference one year has made in the snow cover over North America.
Published Mar 30, 2012
The highest peak in the North Cascades was visibly affected by less precipitation falling as snow in 2015.
Published Jul 30, 2015
Reservoirs, lakes, and mountainsides are brimming with water and snow, though scientists caution that underground aquifers are a long way from having the same bounty.
Published Apr 21, 2017
A few weeks before the arrival of winter, some areas of Canada and the western United States were doused with cold rain and snow.
Published Nov 19, 2015
This satellite map of snow cover shows that every state in the contiguous U.S., except for Florida, received snow in January 2011.
Published Feb 25, 2011
Temperatures across much of the region in 2018 have been well above the norms, while precipitation has been well below—a recipe for struggling farmers and concerned forest fire managers.
Published Jun 12, 2018
NASA airborne snow surveys provide key information for California water managers.
Published Apr 22, 2017
Drought conditions in 2018 are extreme over the Four Corners region of the United States.
Published Nov 8, 2018
A below-normal snowpack in the Southern Rockies could spell trouble for water managers if the deficit continues into late winter and spring.
Published Feb 23, 2018
Snow cover in late March 2015 was significantly lower than the previous worst year on record. The landscape change is stark since 2010, the last time the region saw average snowfall.
Published Apr 3, 2015
The typically green valleys and snow-covered mountains of California have grown dusty after three years of drought.
Published Jul 18, 2014
Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Life Severe Storms Snow and Ice
From brown landscapes to snow-free mountains, California was startlingly dry as a serious drought prompted a state of emergency.
Published Jan 23, 2014
Flying over the Sierras in a Twin Otter aircraft, NASA scientists are finding new ways to measure the amount of water stored in the winter snowpack with greater accuracy than ever before.
Published Apr 3, 2014
Snow is melting an average of 16 days earlier in the Wild River Range, which may require some adjustments in water management.
Published Mar 28, 2015
The winter of 2019-2020 was much drier than usual in California, as evidenced by the dearth of snow in the mountains.
Published Mar 13, 2020
The U.S. Drought Monitor reports its lowest levels in 17 years.
Published May 5, 2017
Acquired September 24, 2002, this natural-color image shows part of Mt. Hood National Forest, including the volcanic peak that gave the area its name. Park boundaries are outlined in white.
Published May 2, 2010
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