Study Finds Snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada to Be Lowest in 500 Years

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/science/california-snow-report.html?ref=topics


The snow that blanketed the Sierra Nevada in California last winter, and that was supposed to serve as an essential source of fresh water for the drought-stricken state, was at its lowest levels in the last 500 years, according to a new study.The paper, published on Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, used tree-ring data from centuries-old blue oaks to provide historical context for the mountain range’s diminished snowfall. As of April 1, the snowpack levels were just 5 percent of their 50-year historical average.