New storm, who dis?
Southern California hasn’t stopped letting the entire world know one thing over the past week: it’s been snowing here. Back-to-back storms have brought everything from once-in-a-generation blizzard warnings to snow at the Hollywood sign and, at elevation, the mountains getting completely dumped on. For a population that breaks out the down jackets within spitting distance of low-60s, it’s a big deal.
“This well may be the largest single-event snowfall in some parts of Southern California since the 1980s,” Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist told the Los Angeles Times. “This is a big deal.”
Mountain High Resort, which has an elevation of 7,000 feet, had nearly eight feet of snow over a seven-day period. The 93 inches by Monday morning alone toppled the mountain’s typical 67-inch annual average. Outside of Southern California, the storm pushed the Sierras into a record-setting range for seasonal snowfall, now totaling 44 feet. Yosemite has been closed to the public indefinitely with 15 feet of snow falling in the area. The list goes on.
It’s all been pretty noteworthy in a place that is technically still battling a drought. To put it all into perspective, NASA shared some satellite imagery, both before and after the event, showcasing just how much snow has covered the region in a short amount of time.
The first image came from February 10, a little less than two weeks before the storm that arrived on the 23rd.
The view of Southern California from space on Feb. 10. Photo: NASA
Next up came an image from February 26th.
The view of Southern California from space on Feb. 26. Photo: NASA
