NASA: A “Surprisingly Average” Year for Sierra Snowpack The Sierra Nevada is known for its booms and busts regarding mountain snow. Last year, there was record-high snow, whereas the snowpack was low three years prior. After more than a decade of unusually wet or unusually dry years, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada was close to normal in 2024. Related: California’s April Snow Survey Shows Above Average Snowpack […] SnowBrains | April 12, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: The Arctic is Getting Rainier The Arctic is known for its cold temperatures, which allow precipitation to fall as snow. But as temperatures warm, that snow is being replaced by rain. These changes can affect sea ice in the Arctic and weather patterns throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Related: NASA: Record Summer Melting Across Svalbard, Arctic Circle NASA scientists examined rainfall trends over the Arctic and […] SnowBrains | March 19, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: Melting Glaciers Are Destroying Climate Archives Glaciers are natural archives of past climate. In their frozen layers lies evidence of Earth’s changing temperature and atmospheric composition. But as the climate warms, some of the longest records of our changing planet are melting away. One such archive is the Corbassière glacier in Switzerland. The high-altitude glacier is situated on the flanks of Grand Combin, one of the […] SnowBrains | February 28, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: The US East Coast is Sinking In many parts of the U.S. East Coast, rising seas driven by melting ice and the thermal expansion of warming water are only part of what threatens coastal areas. The land is also sinking. This geologic two-step is happening rapidly enough to threaten infrastructure, farmland, and wetlands that tens of millions of people along the coast rely upon, according to […] SnowBrains | February 20, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: Winter Photo of Mount Shasta, CA, Taken From the International Space Station An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this nadir photograph of Mount Shasta as the station passed over California. Mount Shasta is a 14,179-foot (4,233-meter) peak situated between Redding, California, and the Oregon-California border. Shasta’s slopes are at least partially snow-covered year-round. A more extensive snowpack during winter makes the mountain’s seven glaciers difficult to distinguish. Related: 2h30m – […] SnowBrains | January 29, 2024 0 Comments
NASA Earth Observatory Captures Images of Recent Winter Storm Walloping the U.S. This article originally appeared on earthobservatory.nasa.gov A potent winter storm plowed across the eastern half of the United States on January 9, 2024, delivering heavy rain and snow, strong winds, and damaging tornadoes. That afternoon, the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-20 satellite acquired this natural-color image (above) of the sprawling storm clouds. The system spawned abundant […] SnowBrains | January 17, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: Andes Snowpack is Hanging On Snowy mountains serve as natural “water towers” in some parts of the world, storing vital fresh water in frozen form during cool, wet times and releasing it in warmer, drier seasons. In central Chile, however, a megadrought, ongoing since 2010, has disrupted this dynamic. The prolonged dry period has often left seasonal mountain snowpack thin, straining water supplies, exacerbating wildfires, […] SnowBrains | January 12, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: 5″ of Fresh Snow Fell on the Highest Mountains in Hawaii Traces of snow clung to the tallest peaks in Hawaii after a winter storm brought over a foot of precipitation to the chain of islands in late November 2023. Related: Yes, You Can Actually Ski in Hawaii An area of low pressure over the Pacific Ocean (known as a Kona low) brought copious moisture to Hawaii from November 29 to […] SnowBrains | December 7, 2023 0 Comments