North American winter and spring snow coverage for 2009-2010 had, by the end of April, reduced to its lowest levels ever recorded since records began in 1967, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The 2009-2010 winter was much colder than normal in much of the US, and there were many record-breaking snowstorms. Snow cover for April 2010 was 2.2 million sq.kms (850,000 sq.miles) below average, with unseasonably high April temperatures causing rapid snow and icepack melting.
The image shows the April 2010 North American percentage of snow cover based on NASA’s Terra satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations. Just above zero snow coverage is shown light blue, 100% snow coverage is white and areas with no detectable snow are gray.
Show/Hide comment form
written by David , June 02, 2010