Photographs of Yosemite 's iconic Half Dome peak have revealed the astonishing extent of California 's historic drought . The images , which show the peak in the third week of March each year between 2011 and 2015 , reveal how swiftly snowfall has depleted year to year . The snow is typically at its deepest in the area in late March and , as seen in the 2011 photograph , it previously covered peaks including the Half Dome . But this year , the fourth consecutive year of drought in California , the 9,000-foot peak does n't bear a single flake of snow . Earlier this month , officials reported that the Sierra Nevada snowpack , which gives an indication of upcoming water supply , is just five per cent of its normal depth - and barely above the record low set in 1991 . The lack of water comes after the winter of 2014 was the hottest on record for California . Scroll down for video . Hidden : A photo taken by a Yosemite Conservancy webcam on March 19 , 2011 shows Yosemite 's Half Dome peak covered with snow . Depleting : The following year , in March 2012 , the iconic peak is similarly covered in deep snow . In response , state regulators voted earlier this month to impose a new set of water conservation rules , such as bans on watering yards and stopping restaurants serving customers water unless they specifically ask for it . Farmers have said they expected to leave as much as a million acres unplanted , nearly twice the amount of last year , the New York Times reported . 'It looks like we are on our way to the worst snowpack in history , ' state climatologists Michael Anderson told the Times . 'Unless we end up with some particularly good snows here in March , we are going to end up with a new lowest rank here . ' But the Half Dome peak is likely to stay clear of snow because there are no major snowstorms forecast for the rest of the month . Earlier this month , the United States Department of Agriculture noted that as well as California , droughts are ravaging Nevada and Utah and also parts of Arizona , New Mexico , Colorado , Washington and Oregon . The photographs were taken by the Yosemite webcam provided by Yosemite Conservancy , which is funded by donations . While all years show the peak on March 19 , the 2014 image shows it on March 17 as a March 19 photograph was not available . Warming temperatures : But by March 2013 , the peak is drastically different - with far less snow as temperatures stay higher . Depleting : The following year , 2014 , also shows far less snow than in previous years as drought ravages states on the West Coast . Dry : By March this year , the fourth consecutive year of drought in California , the peak barely shows a flake of snow .
Images taken in the fourth consecutive year between 2011 and 2015 show stark difference in snowfall . It comes as California battles the third week of March each year of drought following record hot temperatures in 2014 .