Winter Rite of Passage: Tioga Pass Prognosticator #12

[Southwest Dave]

Hi CAnative, good luck in becoming our first 'back to back' winner !

Yosemite was enjoying hot and clear days and all was calm until the arrival of this front.
I have been watching this storm since the weekend and was about to report it as a reminder to all that we are nearing 'that time'. The earliest ever closing date recorded on the Yosemite website [in 2004] is just 12 days away from now !!

It looks as though it could get pretty 'ugly' on the pass, with daytime highs of only 33F and night time lows of 16F, winds possibly gusting to over 40mph on the crest, plus adding heavy snow to the mix and I think we will be looking at a temporary closure. At the moment, the status is to 'call before travelling' so if you are planning on crossing Tioga, keep checking in.

Good luck to anyone who wants to enter. Be sure to check that your selected date is at least 15 days from now, and that the date you choose has not already been taken. In the event of a duplicated date, the prize would go to who secured that date first.

Dave.

[Mark Sedenquist]

I would vote my birthday but it's not 15 days away. So I'm going to guess Nov 15th at 4 pm and my husband's guess is Nov 29th at 4 pm.

A winter-like wind is howling outside the office windows as I write this. It's amazing how fast the weather has changed here. It was 103 less than a week ago here in Las Vegas.

I hope your sons and nephews elect to postpone such a trip. Whitney is not a fun place in a blizzard.

The web cam from Sentinel Dome is already showing heavy snow on top.

(Photo: Yosemite Conservancy Org.) Half Dome is usually visible in this image!

The park will want to keep the road open as long as they can... and it could still turn hot/warm next week.

Mark

[glc]

November 18th at 4 pm.

[CAnative]

Warm, sunny weather is predicted to return Friday.
Fortunately, my sons weren't planning to drive over Tioga Pass. They are driving to Tahoe for a department retreat and then heading south. They have hiked Whitney so there isn't pressure to reach the peak. On the other hand, they have climbed the glaciers of Shasta and Rainier.

[Southwest Dave]

The road is closed for the time being, the following report from Caltrans.

SR 120
[IN THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AREA & SIERRA NEVADA]
IS CLOSED FROM THE TUOLUMNE/MONO CO LINE TO 4 MI WEST OF THE JCT OF US 395
(MONO CO) - DUE TO SNOW - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE

For the latest info click here.

North of Yosemite CA108 and 4 are closed and there are closures on 88 for blasting work Mon to Fri for 3 hours from 1pm untill 4pm.

From Caltrans.

SR 88
[IN THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA & SIERRA NEVADA]
IS CLOSED AT THE CARSON PASS SUMMIT (ALPINE CO) FROM 1300 HRS TO 1600 HRS
MONDAY THRU FRIDAY THRU 10/31/11 - DUE TO BLASTING - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO
USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE - MOTORISTS ARE SUBJECT TO DELAYS OF UP TO 2 HOURS

[Mark Sedenquist]

Photo Courtesy of Yosemite Conservancy -- Taken October 6th at ~ 7:00 pm PST

See, normally Half Dome is visible here!

Mark

[Southwest Dave]

That is spectacular !! When I last looked it was a 'white out' as in your other post.

It looks as though the Sentinel cam has been repositioned slightly, compared to last year.

[CAnative]

Spectacular image from Sentinel Dome which surpassed the earlier outstanding "shades of gray and white" image. Some of the cross-Sierra passes between Tahoe and Yosemite were still closed this morning. This afternoon, Tioga Pass was signed as closed on US 395.

[glc]

According to the Caltrans site, everything is open now.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Photo Courtesy of the Yosemite Conservancy

Pretty fast melt! I wish I had made a side bet with CaNative!

Mark