High Sierra Topix

Lots of rain here this morning 10 miles south of Mammoth at Crowley Lake, with snow forcast down to 7,500 feet by tonight at the higher elevations (I imagine above 9 grand).
Here's another camera looking up toward Mammoth Mountain and toward the Minarets (also US 395, and SR 203: http://www.dot.ca.gov./dist9/cctv/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

sierramel wrote:Lots of rain here this morning 10 miles south of Mammoth at Crowley Lake, with snow forcast down to 7,500 feet by tonight at the higher elevations (I imagine above 9 grand).
Here's another camera looking up toward Mammoth Mountain and toward the Minarets (also US 395, and SR 203: http://www.dot.ca.gov./dist9/cctv/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just heard that Tioga Pass is (temporarily) closed.

Rock slides closing highway 120 between Crane Flat and up to the entrance station into the park west of US 395.
Looks like Sonora Pass is closed for the same reason.

.....Tired of hearing from me yet? The clouds just lifted a little across Crowley Lake, and the White Mountians across the valley are covered with snow.....

Just heard a report from a friend up in Lee Vining that the Tioga Road may be closed for a week. Most recent Cal Trans report says the reason is "inclement weather", but they reported "rock slides" earlier this AM.
What? Are we mind readers?

Here in Mammoth Lakes, luckily not camping this trip. Rain of varying intensity all day with one bout of thundersnow earlier. Snow covering the tops of the Sherwins. Been here twice this season, twenty degrees colder than normal both times, ugh.

Remember those threads about a month ago about backpacking weather in October? A few of us tossed out sober warnings? Well I'm betting a few will be caught out in current foulness this first week of October wearing shorts and t-shirts after starting out during the warm weather of last week. This is how it happens.

SSSdave wrote:Remember those threads about a month ago about backpacking weather in October? A few of us tossed out sober warnings? Well I'm betting a few will be caught out in current foulness this first week of October wearing shorts and t-shirts after starting out during the warm weather of last week. This is how it happens.

Shortly after my return from my 5-day solo up to Ten Lakes in mid-September I began planning a 3-dayer up to Kibbie Lakes for the first week in October. It's an easy trip for me because it's real close to our home in the mountains. In and out, two nights, three days.

So, the last week in September I checked with weather.com's 10-day forecast for that area and saw that there were supposed to be scattered thunderstorms beginning Wednesday, Oct. 6, which was right in the middle of when I wanted to be up there. So, I decided right then and there to forget about that particular outing.

Then, on Saturday, Oct. 2, we had some serious clouding up at home, and by nighttime we were in the middle of one of the most spectacular thunder/lightning storms I've ever been in. The weather people were a little off on the start of the storm, but not the severity.

We live in the mountains at 3,400 feet about 30 minutes from the Big Oak Flat entrance to YNP, so our weather is a good indication of what it will be like higher up. It looked real ugly.

As the weather closed in here at home, and I could see the massive thunder cloud buildup over the Clark Range, I was praying that nobody was going to get caught out in that mess at higher elevation. There are very few things that scare me. But, lightning is real high on the list.

It will be interesting to hear reports as anybody who was out there comes back in.

Dave

Just got back from Mineral King yesterday. (working on a TR...)

It was a little rainy, lots of clouds milling about spitting and pondering and spitting some more. I took rain pants/jacket and layers and was fine... night temps didn't even get down to freezing and we were above 10k two of three nights. But we saw a lot of rain going on in the distance, snow on Whitney and other high places in enough quantity to be visible across the miles, and Sunday night we had a long, awesome lightening show (in the clouds, didn't see strikes) followed by a shower of graupel as we were making ready to pack up. It spat graupel on us as we ascended Franklin Pass and there were patches of it lingering here and there....

A group of guys coming up the other side commented on the hail. I told them no, it's snow. And there will probably be more of it. The top of the pass was quite chilly and the clouds were gathering as they had done each of the four days we were out.

I wore rain pants while hiking for the first time in a long time in the ongoing drizzle on Saturday afternoon.... It was just enough weather to make it interesting, but it was also a little scary, as we were shooting pretty high over Sawtooth and Franklin passes and the clouds were constantly on the move, not at all predictable. There was a guy hunkered down in a tiny tent at Columbine Lake - ten minutes after we passed him the rain stopped - for us. If he had kept walking just a little farther....

Here's another webcam: mammothmountain.com
Temp this morning at my house at 7,000 feet was 31. The White Mountains across the valley are totally buried, the Glass Mountains across the valley are buried. I was up in town yesterday at 8,000 and the Sherwins had snow down to about 9,000, and it was snowing and blowing grauple.
I hate to think that we got enoungh snow higher up that even when the temps temporarily warm again (I hope) that the snow will remain until we begin to get regular storms later on.
We NEED an Indian Summer. Most of us long-time residents are sick of this sh*t.