That’s because one of California’s most important water supplies is melted snow. Knowing with precision how much snow has accumulated is crucial for farmers and water managers. That’s where a mapping project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory known as the Airborne Snow Observatory comes in. In the interactive maps below, the white areas had a meter, or 3.3 feet, or more of snow on the ground in March. High in the mountains, this year's snow blankets the ground in layers tens of feet deep in many places.

Source: New York Times March 23, 2017 03:45 UTC