..on the Yosemite NP site as open !!
With snow set to arrive on Friday accompanied by temperatues as low as 6F[- 14C] overnight, I would say Don [CalOldBlue] might not be that far away with his prediction of the 19th !
Printable View
..on the Yosemite NP site as open !!
With snow set to arrive on Friday accompanied by temperatues as low as 6F[- 14C] overnight, I would say Don [CalOldBlue] might not be that far away with his prediction of the 19th !
Sonora and Ebbetts are still closed.
Sonora Pass is kept open un-officially most of the year. When the Caltrans site shows Sonora closed -- you can usually find road closure signs about 2 miles from the snow gates on the western side -- but I've found the gates themselves open on a couple of occasions so locals on the western slope can get to the grocery stores. There is an upper gate nearer the summit which is nearly always closed if the pass is listed as "closed". Once Ebbetts closes -- it tends to stay that way, although locals seem able to access different parts of the road. One huge caveat here -- if one passes a road closed sign and one is not a "local" -- the local CHP officers take a decidedly dim view of such behavior....Quote:
Sonora and Ebbetts are still closed.
CaNative's POF photo is now online.... And.... it is likely that another photo of Jessica will be on the RTA front page by Friday.
Mark
Although we mentioned the opening could be short lived, there are now some very strong winds coming down with the cold front so be sure to check conditions if you are travelling in the area and not just Tioga pass !. Up on the ridges they are predicting gusts of wind of 95mph and up to a possible 120mph !! On the 395 east of Yosemite, winds are expected to gust up to 60mph and conditions do not look great.
Take it easy !
Special weather statement issued
Quote:
A STORM OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL DROP SOUTHWARD INTO THE
REGION AND BRING MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES...GUSTY WINDS...AND
PERIODS OF SNOW TO THE SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA.
WINDS AHEAD OF THE STORM`S STRONG COLD FRONT WILL INCREASE
SUBSTANTIALLY TONIGHT AND FRIDAY...WITH SIERRA RIDGES GUSTING TO
BETWEEN 90 AND 120 MPH. WINDS ALONG THE 395 CORRIDOR FROM RENO
SOUTHWARD INTO MONO COUNTY ARE EXPECTED TO GUST BETWEEN 55 AND 65
MPH. WHILE EAST INTO THE WESTERN NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE WINDS
GUSTS COULD REACH 50 MPH WITH BLOWING DUST BY MID MORNING FRIDAY
The opening was indeed very short lived! From Caltrans:
Quote:
SR 120
[IN THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AREA & SIERRA NEVADA]
IS CLOSED FROM CRANE FLAT TO 5 MI WEST OF THE JCT OF US 395 /TIOGA PASS/
(TUOLUMNE, MONO CO) - FOR THE WINTER - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE
AN ALTERNATE ROUTE
As always, we will have to wait for the confirmation from the Yosemite NP site. Although I'm not surprised to see it closed again, I am surprised Caltrans has called it 'For the winter' at this point. The snow pack is not particularly deep and the weather forecast through next week looks reasonable enough to suggest there is a chance it may be able to reopen yet again.
I actually checked a while ago and it wasn't listed as closed then, the trouble is I can't remember if it would have been before midnight or just after when I done so, [US time] sorry Don !! ;-)
It's not in the mountain pass closure list yet - will be interesting to see what really happens.
.......when you check out the Sentinel cam shot at 10:30 this morning, it looks glorious !
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...Sat19thNov.jpg
Decisions may be made based on allocation of resources along with actual road conditions.
For the time being Caltrans has removed the "For the Winter" statement. That's not to say that it isn't though !!
The forecast at the moment is changing all the time and certainly keeping the forecasters on their toes ! As of a few minutes ago there is the possibility of seeing 12 inches of new snow settle tonight and tomorrow [Sunday] before a break in the weather again Monday and Tuesday, before another system sweeps through.
On a side note, if anyone is travelling in the region on Thanksgiving you need to keep an eye on the travel conditions, especially over the Grapevine and Tehachapi passes as there is a Special weather Statement in place..
Quote:
WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-
MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-
TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS-KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON-
TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY-
SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT-
857 PM PST SAT NOV 19 2011
...UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL IMPACT THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY TRAVEL...
AFTER A DRY AND RELATIVELY MILD START TO NEXT WEEK...THERE IS THE
POTENTIAL FOR MOUNTAIN SNOW AND VALLEY AND DESERT RAINS NEXT
WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. EXTENDED FORECAST CHARTS SUGGEST A
STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL CALIFORNIA NEXT
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY BRINGING LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN TO THE
VALLEY AND HEAVY SNOW TO THE SIERRA MOUNTAINS. THE SNOW LEVELS MAY
BE LOW ENOUGH TO IMPACT TRAVEL THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE AND THE
TEHACHAPI PASSES ON THANKSGIVING DAY AND MAY RESULT IN TRAVEL
DELAYS OR DIFFICULTIES.
Since Dave as so aptly and in a timely manner brought up the issue -- now would be a good time to read these tips.
Mark
Nice article Mark !
I'm not sure how significant it is, but the Yosemite site has now listed the pass as 'Closed' on their 'Current conditions' page for the first time this winter. Yosemite has previously listed it as 'Call' [before travelling] while it has been listed as 'Closed' by Caltrans. In other words, it is the first time the official site has used that word, CLOSED .
Could that be it ? Maybe, maybe not, watch this space !
The listing changed from "call" to 'closed" about 10 minutes ago. However, Death Valley National Park changed the road from "closed -- due to snow" to "Closed!!" yesterday morning.
I must get the info quicker on my 'Direct line to the White House'. LOL.
It was definitely listed as 'Closed' when I posted almost an hour before you. We have had issues before, when I have seen and posted the official closing date and a few hours later it has been removed, only for it to reappear again later.Quote:
The listing changed from "call" to 'closed" about 10 minutes ago.
It's a real shame the Web Cams haven't updated since Saturday !
Sounds like Sheriff Dave is going to have to call it soon.
I see the Yosemite Conservancy web cam pages have been updated -- Looks like they want people to donate before viewing the web cams. The direct links still work -- but it's a shame it has come to this.
Mark
Yes you did a good job posting status change within 10 minutes, probably within seconds. It still may warm up and dry up nest week.
I'd put in one more guess for Dec but with my luck, it would be close to another road opening.
Nice sunny day up there again:
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/blog/...-23-11-650.jpg
Photo: Courtesy of the Yosemite Conservancy
(Sentinel NetCam -- Photo taken: Wednesday, November 23rd at 1:00 pm)
...I would say NOT. [If that's not the kiss of death...... !! ]
With little snow accumulation expected and temps expected to reach near the mid 50's on the pass over the weekend and forecast to remain relatively mild at least until Tuesday, I would say there is a chance it could go into December.
A great weekend to be visiting Yosemite valley if the forecast remains unchanged. [??] Blue skies and temps touching into the 60's !!
Tis Open !!
And I can't find anything in the forecasts to suggest it will close before next Wednesday. That would indeed see Tioga record a December closing date. That would also be the first time since 2007 and only the fourth time since 1980 !
However, we all know how quickly the weather can change so a huge snow storm on the 28th isn't out of the question. [PLEASE]
The latest official closing date recorded on the Yosemite site [started in 1980] stands at December 11 1995.
I'm gonna take a second guess that would break that record and gonna say;
December 12th @ 4pm.
Any takers ? [At least it'll keep the game alive]
I won't be happy if it's December 2nd as I considered this at the outset, in keeping with Birthdays etc. It's our Anniversary, but I felt 'way back then' when I first took a shot at it, that it would be too late !
So, I'll cover the over and under -- December 12th at 8:30 am
Are you sure that's not meant to say December 11th Mark ? Seeing as I 'claimed' the 12th already.
Nah, I was officially horning in on your "day" -- But you can mark me down for the 13th instead.
I'd love it to snow there on my birthday, Nov. 28th because we're going for the day! I see from the website that Tioga Pass is OPEN today. It wasn't a couple of days ago!Quote:
Originally Posted by Southwest Dave
Can we still make predictions? If so, I'll take Dec. 4th if it's not taken.
You can't pick that date - it has to be at least 15 days later than when you pick it.
I'm going to pick 12/14 at noon.
Is this the first time people have made second guesses?
I'll take a second one too. Dec 15th at 3 pm and I haven't figured out how to ping the poll again.
Oh what the heck. If nobody else has, I'll take Christmas Day at 9am (about when I start constructing the 'traditional' breakfast burritos).
If somebody else has it, I'll toss another dart at the board.
An oddity in the code is preventing us from pinging the poll. I've tried to unravel this bug... but I can't figure it out. So, your virtual ping counts now.Quote:
Originally Posted by CAnative
Mark
Utahtea, the 15-day rule (minimum time) still applies -- do the soonest from today that you could predict is the 12th...Quote:
Originally Posted by Utahtea
Mark
November 10th at 4 pm...Midwest Michael
November 13th...Lifemagician
November 15th at 4 pm....CAnative
November 19th at 7:00 pm....CalOldBlue
November 21st at 8:50 am....Mark Sedenquist
November 28th at 3:00 pm....Southwest Dave
November 29th at 4 pm....CAnative
December 12th at 4 pm....Southwest Dave
December 13th at 8:30 am.....Mark Sedenquist
December 15th at 3 pm....CAnative
December 25th at 9:00 am....CalOldBlue
December 29th at 8:30 am.....Mark Sedenquist
Utahtea: Still pending for a valid day....
I bet it's a gorgeous drive about now... Still open as of this morning.
Actually, I'm going to throw another date into the pot.... December 29th at 8:30 am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Sedenquist
I'll pick December 18th at 9 am. I'm thinking that this Alaska blast we're in for at the end of the week might do the trick but I'll choose the 18th because it's my nieces birthday.
We just drove to Tuolumne meadows Meadows today and there's not much snow at all! Camera was acting up while there but I did get some pictures at Tenaya Lake.
Attachment 3129
I have been keeping an eye on this cold blast from Alaska that is due to arrive Thursday. It would seem that little snow accumulation is expected, but the temperatures from weds night through to Saturday are extreme enough to freeze it up and close the pass. Through the weekend and into Monday things are expected to warm up again into the low 40F's during the day, not sure whether that will be enough though ! Could be that we are playing the waiting game again through the middle of next week !
Nice picture Utah and thanks for the 'eyes on' update.
Mark, you forgot my second guess - 12/14 at noon.
I guess I'll retake the next available date - which would seem to be 12/16, we'll say 10AM
Don't worry George, I got your back !
The latest of those still current;
November 29th at 4pm..CAnative
December 12th at 4 pm....Southwest Dave
December 13th at 8:30 am.....Mark Sedenquist
December 14th at noon.......glc
December 15th at 3 pm....CAnative
December 16th at 10am.. Midwest Michael
December 25th at 9:00 am....CalOldBlue
December 29th at 8:30 am.....Mark Sedenquist ****
**** Mark, I will pay you the prize myself if it closes on the 29th December !! LOL.
You forgot my Dec. 18 at 9 am or am I suppose to add it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Southwest Dave
The latest of those still current;
November 29th at 4pm..CAnative
December 12th at 4 pm....Southwest Dave
December 13th at 8:30 am.....Mark Sedenquist
December 14th at noon.......glc
December 15th at 3 pm....CAnative
December 16th at 10am.. Midwest Michael
December 18th at 9 am..Utahtea
December 25th at 9:00 am....CalOldBlue
December 29th at 8:30 am.....Mark Sedenquist ****
Dang ! I missed you. Apologies for leaving you out, but your prediction would have counted as it was identified in a post, as per the rules, and so would have glc's. Ultimately, anyone wishing to join in is responsible for making sure the date they wish to select is still available. If a date is duplicated and it turns out to be a winning date, the person who first 'claimed' it is declared the winner.Quote:
You forgot my Dec. 18 at 9 am or am I suppose to add it?
...That's why there is a TPP Sheriff for this feature, I see I missed a couple of the prognostications!
Mark