Sierra Nevada snowpack at its lowest in 500 years

T

he Sierra Nevada snowpack—the source of more than one-third of California's water supply—is the lowest it has been in 500 years.

The finding comes from a new historical analysis of tree rings published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change. It demonstrates how severe California's four-year-old drought has become. The state began rationing water for the first time in its 165-year history earlier this year.

Read the Inside Climate News story - “Woe, California: Sierra Nevada Snowpack Hits a 500-Year Low”.