BEST OF THE WEB: California’s ‘ghost lake’ reappears after sodden winter

New satellite images released from Nasa this week showcase the dramatic reappearance of California’s Tulare Lake after water swallowed swaths of land across the state’s agricultural center that had long been dry. Taken between the start of February and the end of April and colored artificially to help distinguish the water from vegetation and bare ground, the images highlight the scale of the transformation across the region still grappling with the aftermath of this winter’s heavy rains and snow. This isn’t the first time the “ghost lake” has caused widespread flooding, but the onslaught of weather whiplash wreaked havoc on residents, agricultural workers and farms – and it’s far from finished. Tucked against the Sierra Nevada’s white-capped peaks, the region will have to reckon with surges of snowmelt filling its waterways as the weather warms. On Thursday, the snowpack in the southern Sierra was 436% of normal for this time of year, according to California’s department of water…