The storm was as big as advertised, dropping 5.4 inches of rain in Yosemite Valley. Judging from the Tioga Pass web cam, it looks like they got about a foot of snow. Temperatures actually rose during the storm, so the initial snow there turned to rain. The pass is closed, but the park service is apparently plowing, and it may reopen tomorrow.
The rain ended at about 9 a.m. today, and the Turtleback Dome web cam showed some nice clearing storm clouds and mist. There could be good photo opportunities in Yosemite Valley this evening as well. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to make it up to the valley today. I’ll have to avoid looking at the web cam; if I miss an incredible sunset I’d rather not know! All the moisture in the ground may also lead to mist forming in the meadows on cold evenings or mornings during the next few days.
In addition to lots of rain, the storm brought high winds. I suspect many leaves were blown off aspens on the east side of the Sierra. On the other hand, I heard that the colors are starting to pop in Yosemite Valley. I’ll be up there Friday to see for myself, so I’ll let you know what I find.
Michael,
I went out to the El Cap picnic area to test your theory about Horsetail Falls in October; It was a bust due to thick clouds to the west low on the horizon.
Will continue to photograph that end of the El Cap wall falls or no through Oct-Nov to get a good idea of how the sunlight moves across it.