Tioga Pass Prognosticator 37. Spring opening competition!

[Mark Sedenquist]

Melt is back underway. Kind of amazing how fast the snow level is changing up there.




Photo provided by and courtesy of The Yosemite Conservancy

April 19th at 08:34 am PDT

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Dirty snow provided by The Yosemite Conservancy

April 20th at 8:35 am PDT

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April 22nd at 10:58 am PDT

[Southwest Dave]

A little fresh snow today, which is only expected to add a couple of inches of the white stuff. The Plow crews have been busy the last week or so, and have managed to Plow 17 miles of road and are now located just West of Yosemite creek. There is still an avalanche risk in force along this stretch of road. The Avalanche crews are at Olmstead point, where the snow is said to be soft and melting away, and nowhere near as icy as last year, but Avalanche risk remains in the area.
So far, the Facilities management staff have not been able to access Tuolumne Meadows to assess the situation there and begin preparing visitor services.

Sentinel webcam today.


The crews continuing to Plow on with their work.


In other news. Crews have plowed the length of Glacier Point Road and are working on snow removal from parking lots, the campground, paved trails and front of buildings. There is still no news on an opening date.

Dave

[Southwest Dave]

As we step into May this image from the High Sierra webcam shows just how quickly the snow is melting away! It looks as though there will be some fresh snow over the weekend, but it's unlikely to amount to much.



Dave

[Mark Sedenquist]

Yeah, it truly amazing how fast it is melting.



Provided by The Yosemite Conservancy
May 2nd at 12:07 pm PDT

[Southwest Dave]

In my previous post, I mentioned there is snow in this weekends forecast "That's unlikely to amount to much". There is now a Winter storm warning in effect from 11am Saturday until 8am Sunday morning for heavy snow. This could bring up to 24 inches of fresh snow and the possibility of winds reaching 75mph along exposed ridges! Travel is described as "Very difficult, to impossible with risks of extensive tree damage and wind chill factors as low as 20 below zero"

The Plow teams continue with their effort, but it seems they have a bit of work still ahead of them !

The latest update.

May 2, 2024

The roads crew has plowed 24 miles from the Crane Flat gate and is currently working east of Porcupine Flat Campground.

Snow depths range from three to five feet. The snow is refreezing overnight, which making progress more difficult. A winter weather advisory is in effect this weekend, so plows may be diverted to keeping other park roads clear.

Avalanche team continues to monitor avalanche zones and has scouted as far as Tioga Pass. Buildings and Grounds staff have made an initial assessment of White Wolf, but the area is still buried in several feet of snow.

May 1 snow survey results are in. Snow (water content) is at 87% for the Tuolumne River basin and 106% for the Merced River basin.

Dave

[Southwest Dave]

An update on the view from the High Sierra webcam shows some nice fresh snow.


And it made for a pretty scene at Yosemite falls. They look to be flowing well!


Dave

And another one from this morning:



Photo provided by and courtesy of The Yosemite Conservancy

May 6th at 07:30 am PDT

[Mark Sedenquist]

I am going to add another prognostication for the opening. Weirdly, I can't seem to ping the poll.

Anyway, I am going to guess June 7th at 8 am!

The rocks are coming out!!!



May 9th at 1:51 pm PDT

Mark