[NASA] Blankets of White in the West This post first appeared on the NASA Earth Observatory website and was written by Lindsey Doermann. An early-November snowstorm dropped feet of snow on the plains of eastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico and gave a boost to Rocky Mountain snowpack. While fresh powder is a common sight on the range’s lofty peaks this time of year, the accumulations measured […] SnowBrains | November 13, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: El Niño Exits After heating up the eastern Pacific Ocean for about a year, El Niño finally died out in May 2024. The natural climate phenomenon contributed to many months of record-high ocean temperatures, precipitation extremes in Africa, low ice cover on the Great Lakes, and severe drought in the Amazon and Central America. As of July 2024, the eastern Pacific was in […] SnowBrains | July 15, 2024 0 Comments
NASA: Heat Dome Brings a Blast of Heat in the East An area of high pressure lingered in the upper atmosphere over the U.S. Midwest and Northeast in June 2024. This pushed warm air toward the surface and trapped it there—a weather phenomenon meteorologists call a heat dome. Related: NOAA Winter 2024/25 Early Forecast: La Niña Returns and What That Means For Next Winter’s Ski Season Heat domes put the brakes […] Weather WeatherBrains | June 21, 2024 0 Comments
NASA Satellites Find Snow Didn’t Offset Southwest US Groundwater Loss Record snowfall in recent years has not been enough to offset long-term drying conditions and increasing groundwater demands in the U.S. Southwest, according to a new analysis of NASA satellite data. Declining water levels in the Great Salt Lake and Lake Mead have been testaments to a megadrought afflicting western North America since 2000. However, surface water only accounts for […] SnowBrains | June 18, 2024 1 Comment
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 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
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