California experienced a historical drought this year that led many to think that the state's superbloom would 'be a bust.' However, significant rainfall in April and March birthed fields of orange poppies across the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve landscape.

NASA shared a stunning satellite image of the wildflowers as seen from space, showing the fiery orange poppies in full bloom. Park officials suggest that the wildflowers may stick around longer than usual, despite being an "unexpected" surprise due to the late-season rains.

Unexpected superbloom of fiery orange poppies

When rainfall is necessary for California's superbloom, the US Drought Monitor showed 60% of California was either abnormally dry or in a moderate drought since the start of the year in January and February.

"The rains have shut off since Christmas," said Richard Minnich, a professor of geography in the Earth Sciences Department at the University of California, in an interview with SFGate on February.

He added that it has also been a cold winter and that suppressed the growth of every plant not just the orange poppies. There have been many years too that the March Miracle has happened, according to Minnich.

"We've had a year where it's terrible all winter, and then we have a gush of rain in March."

Furthermore, he said that if the late rains do not come, it will be a bust this year. By the time the rains will come, it might be too late anyway. MailOnline reported that the January-February drought season has tremendously impacted the flowers this year.

Fortunately, the state of California received its "Miracle March" with enough rainfall for its majestic superbloom. The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, located in Lancaster, received around 10.5 inches of rain in March and April, which is almost four inches more than the average.

Thanks to the Miracle March rainfall, a sea of orange poppies fill the valley, so much that the NASA's Operation Land Image (OLI) satellite was able to capture an image of the magnificent bloom of the wildflowers while it was orbiting space.

Trip to Southern California to visit the valley

For many years now, crowds have flocked to the park to enjoy the stunning superbloom of California. However, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve has been shut down to the public.

But it seems the outbreak is not stopping people from enjoying the beautiful view as many have disregarded officials to run, dance, and pose for photos in the fields of orange poppies.

California State Parks Interpreter Jean Rhyne told SFGate that a lot of people are not obeying the stay-at-home order, but visitation to the valley is only a fraction of what it would look like at this time of the year.

The Golden State has been under stay-at-home orders for more than a month already because of the coronavirus. The state has already recorded more than 56,000 cases and over 2,000 reported deaths.

The virus has already spread around the world, hitting almost every country, but the United States has been hit the hardest. As of May 6, the country has already over 1.2 million cases and more than 72,000 deaths recorded.