English: The winter of 2017-2018 has been a relatively dry one in the southwestern United States, especially in California’s Sierra Mountains. In the first days of March a strong winter storm blanketed the region with snow. The Sierra Mountains, running roughly north to south on the eastern edge of the Central Valley, received four to six feet of snow in many places, according to Accuweather. The highest amount reported was 80 inches at Kirkwood Ski Resort.

Most of the annual moisture falls as snow in the southwest, with less falling as spring and summer rains. Much of the agriculture of the region depends on heavy winter snowpack and the resulting snowmelt that fills the streams in the summertime. Despite this heavy March snow, the snow deficit remains significant. Accuweather reported that, as of March 5, the statewide regional snowpack across California is only 37 percent of where it should be on this date, even after the early March snowstorm.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of snow blanketing the southwestern United States on March 5.