Half Dome, winter sunset — from 1989 (!)
Rain reached northern California this week, but Yosemite only got brushed by the southern edge of these storms. That’s about to change, however, if the forecasts are right. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Yosemite and the southern Sierra Nevada for tonight and tomorrow, with two to three feet of snow possible above 6000 feet. The heaviest precipitation will fall as rain in Yosemite Valley (at 4000 feet), but as a cold front moves through on Saturday afternoon snow levels are expected to drop down to 2000 feet. Even though the main part of the storm will have passed by that time, forecasters are predicting plenty of showers Saturday night and Sunday, and significant amounts of snow could accumulate in Yosemite Valley and the Sierra foothills.
At this point it’s hard to predict when the storm will clear. If forced to guess, I’d say sometime on Sunday, but clearing could hold off until Sunday night or even Monday morning. Then again, a brief clearing might be possible on Saturday afternoon.
If the timing is right, this is a particularly good month to photograph a clearing storm from Tunnel View. As I point out in The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite book and iPhone app, in March the sun hits both El Capitan and Cathedral Rocks late in the day, balancing the light on both sides of the valley.
But snow down to 2000 feet could make driving very difficult. It’s one thing to deal with snow in Yosemite Valley, it’s another to drive for 30 miles through snow before even reaching the valley, through areas that don’t typically get a lot snow and lack the equipment and personnel to plow the roads adequately. So be prepared for some serious winter driving if you’re heading to Yosemite to photograph the snow or catch the storm clearing.
We really need a month of storms to get us even close to normal precipitation for the year. Unfortunately, after this event it looks like skies will be clear next week. But I’m grateful for whatever rain or snow we get!
— Michael Frye
Related Posts: February in Yosemite; Storms at Last! Six Images From Tunnel View
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author and photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, plus the eBook Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom. He has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California
Looking at the forecast this morning, it appears that the best chance for clearing storm conditions will be sometime on Sunday. Here’s a link to the National Weather Service forecast; read the “Forecast Discussion” (lower-right corner):
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.72836644908416&lon=-119.6136474609375&site=hnx&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text
Hi Michael
Looking foward to seeing your photos from this.
Too bad this didn’t happen 5-6 weeks ago, for Horsetail 🙁
Be careful driving.
Paolo
Thanks Paolo – who knows if I’ll get any good photos from this storm?
Thanks for the heads-up on the storm system. Hoping for snow on the Valley floor. If the snow level does drop to 2,000 ft, it will be a long drive in wintery roads!
It’s snowing at my house at 2700 feet now, though it’s showery, so coming and going. There’s definitely snow on the valley floor now if you check the webcam.
I was in the village today with the family and was contemplating potentially returning Sunday after this weekends storm. My first thought (after how great it would look with some snow) was regarding the drive back in. Can’t say I’d enjoy that ride back on Hwy 41 from Fish Camp with snow covered roads.
Yeah, 41 is not a fun drive in the snow. Might be worth it, but only if you’re comfortable driving snowy winding roads.
Trying to figure quick dash from SF Bay Area to YOS. Either up Sunday with fingers crossed for storm clearing shots p.m. to sunset or Monday sunrise clearing shots and a.m. shooting classic sites for ‘Winter Wonderland’ and possibly sunset then back to BA. — NOT happy thinking about driving 140 at NIGHT with snow, even with 4WD.
The rub might be if it continues to snow on Monday making shots difficult. Says only 20% for Monday but…
If I had to bet now, Sunday would be more likely to have interesting weather and clearing storm conditions at some point. But my crystal ball is malfunctioning, so no guarantees.
Btw Michael, I just DL’d the app for my iPad and was VERY pleased with the additional richness over the book that I’ve had since ’09. I LOVE having the connectivity and interactive tools in addition to the great reference of the text as always! — VERY nice job. THANKS!
Thanks Tim – glad you like it!
I really like these ‘heads up’posts. I cannot get out for this one but will act on one in the future. Am interested in doing yosemite snow in digital. Last time it was fujichrome and some interesting scala film!
Thanks Ed – hope you do get to catch some interesting weather in Yosemite sometime soon.
Well, how did it turn out? The same “big storm” dropped about 6″ of snow on the tail end of a lot of rain here in the Northern Sierra (elev. 3,600). We definitely had more rain and even more snow than most storms this year, but it still wasn’t nearly as big as the forecast. I heard there was snow in El Portal, which means the Valley ought to have had an abundance…?
Yosemite Valley got about a foot of snow, almost four inches or rain/snow. We found seven inches of snow on our deck in Mariposa, elevation 2800 feet. Badger Pass, as 7200 feet, got four feet of new snow. So a sizable storm. All the waterfalls have picked up since last week. All good – but we could use some more!