If it rains a lot on Oct. 27

Plugging in some sunset values into Stellarium for Yosemite Valley

Firefall (Horsetail Fall) date of Feb. 14, 2012, sunset at 17:31:47, sun sets at azimuth 253 degrees, 33 minutes 41 seconds

Backing up to Oct. 27, 2011, sunset at 18:01:29, sun sets at azimuth 253 degrees, 33 minutes, 17 seconds

So if it rains a lot or snows and then melts on Oct 27 and sun peeks out just before sunset, shouldn't there be a firefall? Or is there another factor in this equation

I believe you are correct. You can have a "firefall" in the Fall.

Quote
Vince
So if it rains a lot or snows and then melts on Oct 27 and sun peeks out just before sunset, shouldn't there be a firefall? Or is there another factor in this equation

We've covered this before:
The solar conditions for the Horsetail Firefall are roughly symmetric around the Winter Solstice.
http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,22490,22683#msg-22683



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2011 08:04AM by szalkowski.