Characterizing the extreme 2015 snowpack deficit in the Sierra Nevada (USA) and the implications for drought recovery

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 43; no. 12; pp. 6341 - 6349
• Main Authors: Margulis, Steven A., Cortés, Gonzalo, Girotto, Manuela, Huning, Laurie S., Li, Dongyue, Durand, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 28.06.2016; Wiley
• Subjects: Computer simulation; Confidence intervals; Data; Drought; Droughts; El Nino; El Nino phenomena; Elevation; Extreme weather; Meteorology; Monte Carlo simulation; Recovery; Simulation; Snow; Snow accumulation; Snowpack; Statistical methods; water supply; United States > US; Sierra Nevada Mountain Range; USA, California, Sierra Nevada Mts

Analysis of the Sierra Nevada (USA) snowpack using a new spatially distributed snow reanalysis data set, in combination with longer term in situ data, indicates that water year 2015 was a truly extreme (dry) year. The range‐wide peak snow volume was characterized by a return period of over 600 years...