Striking before-and-after images show extent of California's snow drought - BERITAJA

As California experiences its second-worst snowfall drought successful 50 years, caller images show a stark comparison pinch past year’s snowfall levels.

This year, the Sierra snowpack peaked connected Feb. 25. It was only 73% of average, past quickly dwindled from there.

Then, summerlike power successful March collapsed monthly records successful galore areas of the Western United States. Daniel Swain, a ambiance intelligence pinch UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, described it arsenic 1 of the about “extreme power events ever observed successful the American Southwest.”

Though a outpouring large wind dropped up to 3.5 feet of snowfall successful California’s Sierra Nevada mountains past week, extending skis season, snowfall levels stay highly low.

The images beneath show Grizzly Peak successful Northern California’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest successful March 2025 (left) and March 2026 (right).

A ample mound of snowfall visible successful the foreground successful 2025 was gone successful 2026. Mount Shasta, seen successful the background, was besides noticeably little snowy a twelvemonth later.

The Northern Sierra has been hardest deed by this year’s snow drought. Snow levels were astatine conscionable 10% of normal connected April 16, compared to 27% successful the Central and Southern Sierra.

On the aforesaid time past year, the Northern Sierra was astatine 102% of normal, the Central Sierra astatine 81% and the Southern Sierra astatine 68%.

Statewide, snowfall levels were 20% of normal. California’s smallest snowpack connected grounds was successful 2015, conscionable 5% of average.

The images beneath show the Sierra Buttes successful Tahoe National Forest connected the aforesaid dates successful March 2025 (left) and March 2026 (right).

The quality successful snowfall levels is nighttime and day, pinch past year’s achromatic peaks replaced by browns and greens.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack provides about a third of the state’s h2o supply, its outpouring and summertime runoff refilling reservoirs erstwhile the authorities needs the h2o most.

Nearly each of California’s reservoirs were astatine aliases supra humanities mean levels aft this year’s early runoff.

The warmth and premature melt mean the state’s forests will barren retired a period earlier than usual, aliases moreover more, Peter Gleick, a starring h2o intelligence and co-founder of the Pacific Institute, told The Times.

“It could beryllium a very bad occurrence year,” he said.

Times unit writer Ian James contributed to this report.