The Linde Center
/
News
/
JPL News: California Tuolumne Snowpack 40 Percent of Worst Year
JPL News: California Tuolumne Snowpack 40 Percent of Worst Year
April 01, 2015
New NASA data find the snowpack in the Tuolumne River Basin in California's Sierra Nevada—a major source of water for millions of Californians—currently contains just 40 percent as much water as it did near this time at its highest level of 2014, one of the two driest years in California's recorded history. The data were acquired through a partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts.
Written by
Jessica Stoller-Conrad
![earth20150401c-tuolumne_basin.jpg](https://caltechsites-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/root/images/earth20150401c-tuolumne_basin_Uzkzm2c.width-450.jpg)
Image Lightbox
![earth20150401c-tuolumne_basin.jpg](https://caltechsites-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/root/images/earth20150401c-tuolumne_basin_Uzkzm2c.max-1400x800.jpg)
Deficit in the total volume of water contained within the Tuolumne River Basin snowpack from this time in 2014 to now. The deeper the red color, the greater the volume of water lost.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Download Full Image