Friday Eye Candy: See California's 'Super Bloom' Via Satellite

What a difference a wet winter makes.

1 minute read

April 14, 2017, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


California Wildflowers

Larry Satterberg / Shutterstock

"It’s a fantastic year for wildflower lovers, who’ve been flocking to fields of poppies, lupine and golden brush. The orange, purple and yellow blooms are already populating the warmer climes of southern California and the Central Valley thanks to above average winter rainfall following five years of drought," writes Lindsey Hoshaw

Residents of Southern California (like me) can tell you that images of the so-called "Super Bloom" have been a near constant on social media in recent weeks, but the images shared in the article by Hoshaw offer a different perspective—the one from space. The series of before and after satellite images shows why "super" is such an appropriate way to describe California's spring bloom this year.

While the Super Bloom has exploded in places like Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Los Padres National Forest, other locations like Death Valley haven't been so fortunate. It's possible that locations farther north could still see a Super Bloom in June and July. 

Monday, April 10, 2017 in KQED

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