Taken a few days ago:

If the warm weather persists, and there is an unusual amount of melting snow, is there a possibility that they would Re-open roads/passes that would normally be closed this time of year? (sentinal cell site is down and it will otherwise take until spring to get to it from Glacier Point access)

B

(Infinitesimally)^n small chance at this time of year (lots of winter to come) - the snow melt and avalanches always deposit debris on the road that needs to be cleared and the roadbed repaired, it must be deemed safe for the road crews to work, they have to have the funds available (especially given the state's financial position, they are not going to spend money performing work that would have to be repeated in several months), etc.



Post Edited (01-18-09 17:15)

---

THE YOSEMITE POST
Voice of the Rocky Marmot Empire

Anyone know what the Sierra snowpack is this year compared to this time last year?

---

Bill

In a casual search, these were the closest dates to compare snowpacks that I found:

Late Jan 2008:"Results from the California Department of Water Resources’ snow survey completed on Jan. 31 2008 near Echo Summit on Highway 50 revealed snowpacks that were more than seven feet deep, or 123 percent above average for this time of year."

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/SS/20080203/NEWS/768419288/-1/REGION


Early Jan 2009:"Other areas fare slightly better, with the average snowpack in the Lake Tahoe Basin put at 84 percent of normal Monday and the Truckee River Basin’s snowpack measured at 82 percent."

Yearly comparison
Monday’s (Jan 2009) snowpack
o Truckee River Basin: 82 percent.
o Lake Tahoe Basin: 84 percent.
o Carson River Basin: 82 percent

Jan. 5, 2008
o Truckee River Basin: 84 percent.
o Lake Tahoe Basin: 90 percent.
o Carson River Basin: 95 percent.

http://www.rgj.com/article/20090105/NEWS18/90105047

After reading a few articles on the subject, I came away with the realization that the actual droughts began after some good early snowfall followed by a dry Feb-March-Apr. Last year we did not get a drop of rain in March.

B



Post Edited (01-18-09 23:05)

---

The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.

Thanks for the update Bee...I hope Yosemite gets a lot more before the winter is over.

---

Bill

>>I hope Yosemite gets a lot more before the winter is over<<

Your wish might come true; as I write, the radio announced that Donner Summit has chain requirements starting in Kingvale. This may or may not reflect whats happening in Yosemite, but one can hope! (Donner being relatively close to my home in proximity to the Northern Sierra)

B

Bee wrote:

> This may or may not reflect whats happening in Yosemite,

The snow censor at Dana Meadows is showing over an inch of new water content in the snow since this morning. Tenaya Lake is over 1.5 inches.

Let it snow, let is snow, let it snow! It's rained in Fresno most of today. About .25" at noon which will mean snow in the Sierra/Yosemite area. More rain off and on for a week, woo hoo! Only drag is that my wife and I are going to do a trans-Sierra this summer (late June) and more snow equals snow on the trail on our route during that time. Plus side, no mosquitos!

---

Smarter than the average bear.

Yes, let it snow,let it snow, let it snow!

Waxed my skis in anticipation!!

B

The Tioga Cam shows what appears to be recent snow.

The Mill Creek cam shows new snow too:

http://www.monolake.org/today/mccam

The Sentinel Dome and Tioga cameras actually look like snow has been melting over the last day or so. Snow pillows at several places show water content going up but that could be rain being absorbed into the snow. The sensor at Kibbie Ridge is showing a loss of water content over the past many days with an even faster drop in the last 24 to 48 hours.

Hopefully the temperature will drop over the next few days and we will get some stuff that sticks.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/pillowplots/TuolumneMerced.html


Here is a temperature plot at TM for the past ten days. Its been warm up there.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/jspplot/jspPlotServlet.jsp?sensor_no=1643&end=01%2F23%2F2009+16%3A17&geom=small&interval=10&cookies=CDEC02



Post Edited (01-23-09 16:26)

---

Old Dude

Hopefully the folks in Alaska have HAARP dialed in. Long Live Sarah.

Vince wrote:

> Hopefully the folks in Alaska have HAARP dialed in. Long Live
> Sarah.

Actually, the Fruitcake Lady seems to have already spent way too much time sitting in front of her leaky microwave oven.

Sierra snowpack findings signal a third year of drought

Published: Friday, Jan. 30, 2009

"State water officials reported Thursday that the statewide snowpack stands at only 61 percent of average for the winter so far; this likely ensures California will see its third straight drought year."

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1585160.html

B