Tioga Road Closure 11/19 at 3 pm

[maverick]

Yosemite NP:

The first hint of winter is on the way! As a result, Tioga Road (continuation of Highway 120 through the park) and Glacier Point Road will temporarily close due to an incoming storm on Tuesday, November 19 at 3 pm. These closures could last several days or longer. Call 209/372-0200 (then 1, 1) to check on updates.

US National Weather Service Hanford California has issued a winter storm watch for several inches of snow above 6,000 feet (but just a slight amount of rain in Yosemite Valley). You can check forecasts for different areas of the park at https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weathermap.htm.

[Wandering Daisy]

I cannot find any current information on the Yosemite NP website regarding the status of plowing of Tioga Road. I know all roads in Yosemite are now closed, but are they still planning on plowing?

[bobby49]

To a certain extent, if the roads are closed, then it doesn't matter too much on whether they are plowing or not.

On a normal year, they get started plowing early. However, it doesn't make good sense to start too early. Instead, if they just let the warmer weather and sunlight melt the snow naturally, it reduces the amount of plowing work, which is expensive. One of the few reasons that they attempt to open the Tioga Road earlier is to help the economy on the East Side.

[c9h13no3]

From the backcountry skiers group, the road is plowed and snow free from Lee Vining to the park entrance. Closed to cars, but open to bikes & hikers at Poole Powerplant road. Inside the park, the road still has snow on it.