Clearing storm, Yosemite Valley
It’s been a strange winter. In an El Niño year like this we would expect to see a lot of rain and snow. But so far it’s been pretty dry, except for that one week in January when it snowed almost nonstop and all those trees fell in Yosemite Valley. It’s been mostly dry since then, but now it looks as if we might be getting into the wet pattern again. A storm arrived last night, and another one is expected tomorrow, with still more precipitation due on Tuesday and again Saturday.
As always, storms can provide great photo opportunities. It looks like the second system will dissipate sometime Sunday, so we could see some nice clearing storm conditions then. But it’s always hard to predict when these events might happen, and timing is critical. It’s ideal if the storm breaks up just before sunrise or just before sunset, but that’s rare. Often they end during the night. If that happens the next morning will frequently dawn clear, but with no mist — and it’s that mist that really makes things interesing.
Let’s hope for a classic Yosemite clearing storm on Sunday, maybe right around sunset…
