Weather Alert 18th-22nd

[maverick]

Percentages go up as you get closer to Wed.


Saturday - A 20 percent chance of snow showers after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.
East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning. Saturday Night a 20 percent chance of snow showers
before 11pm. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming
east northeast in the evening.


Sunday - A 20 percent chance of snow showers after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Partly sunny, with a high near 53.
East wind around 5 mph. Sunday Night a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly
cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast in the evening.


Monday - A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Partly sunny, with a high near 51. East southeast
wind 5 to 10 mph. Monday Night a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with
a low around 28. West wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast in the evening.


Tuesday - A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. Southeast wind
around 10 mph. Tuesday Night a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. West wind 5 to
10 mph becoming light northwest in the evening


Wednesday - A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 40. East wind around 5 mph.

[robow8]

Good to hear. Let's hope it delivers!

Where is this forecast for?

[maverick]

Robow8 wrote:

Where is this forecast for?

This is for Yosemite, but pretty much the entire Sierra. Rain percentages drop a little towards
the southern end of Sequoia NP.

[InsaneBoost]

Snow, rain, I'll take either of the two. Good to hear.

[valeofoakland]

I'm planning on doing the Hetch Hetchy loop up to Vernon Lake/Tiltill/Rancheria from Saturday to Monday. With 20% chance of isolated showers, how soggy are we talking?

Can anyone recommend the best weather station to look at for Hetch Hetchy?

[seanr]

I'm planning on doing the Hetch Hetchy loop up to Vernon Lake/Tiltill/Rancheria from Saturday to Monday. With 20% chance of isolated showers, how soggy are we talking?

Can anyone recommend the best weather station to look at for Hetch Hetchy?

Here is what I get when I type in Vernon Lake, CA. It is based on 7,600 ft.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... TChR73n-BY

Here is Hetch Hetchy based on about 4,000 feet.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... TChR73n-BY

There is a way to mark the entire zone you will hike on a weather.gov map, but that may be overkill in your scenario.

Keep an eye on this as long as you can to look for increased predicted severity of wind, rain, or snow. Ask the rangers on your way in. They will have a posted forecast. The linked forecasts will mention snow or rain accumulation in inches if much widespread accumulation is expected. The forecast looks pretty good to me as long as you are equipped to possibly face some wet and some wind chill. Research what to do in case of lightning strikes if you haven't. Spring storms like this one are hard to predict spot on. Heavy cold rain feels worse than a little light snow. Moderate to deep snow can obscure trails. It may not even sprinkle on you, it could drizzle a bit, or a thunderstorm could hit your location. Looks like it will be pretty nice until midweek.

I hiked to Wapama Falls with my daughter a week and a half ago as the first storm wave rolled in. It was not bad at all until it started pouring rain at below forty degrees as we approached our vehicle, but it was a much colder and wetter forecast than now. Snow dusted above 5,000 feet, but less than predicted that night and it was sunny for the Mist Trail in YV the next day. We bailed to the southern Sierra before the big wave dumped 1-2 feet of snow. This storm is not likely to be like that, especially during the weekend, but keep an eye on conditions and bail or change plans if you get concerned about getting lost or getting too wet and cold. There will be others around in a well marked area, not far in the backcountry, and you'll have a map (I assume). It sounds fun and relaxing to me. The wildflowers, falls, and CA newts should be great!

IMAG6551.jpg

[valeofoakland]

Thanks @seanr!

I'm planning on doing the Hetch Hetchy loop up to Vernon Lake/Tiltill/Rancheria from Saturday to Monday. With 20% chance of isolated showers, how soggy are we talking?

Can anyone recommend the best weather station to look at for Hetch Hetchy?

Here is what I get when I type in Vernon Lake, CA. It is based on 7,600 ft.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... TChR73n-BY

Here is Hetch Hetchy based on about 4,000 feet.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... TChR73n-BY

There is a way to mark the entire zone you will hike on a weather.gov map, but that may be overkill in your scenario.

Keep an eye on this as long as you can to look for increased predicted severity of wind, rain, or snow. Ask the rangers on your way in. They will have a posted forecast. The linked forecasts will mention snow or rain accumulation in inches if much widespread accumulation is expected. The forecast looks pretty good to me as long as you are equipped to possibly face some wet and some wind chill. Research what to do in case of lightning strikes if you haven't. Spring storms like this one are hard to predict spot on. Heavy cold rain feels worse than a little light snow. Moderate to deep snow can obscure trails. It may not even sprinkle on you, it could drizzle a bit, or a thunderstorm could hit your location. Looks like it will be pretty nice until midweek.

I hiked to Wapama Falls with my daughter a week and a half ago as the first storm wave rolled in. It was not bad at all until it started pouring rain at below forty degrees as we approached our vehicle, but it was a much colder and wetter forecast than now. Snow dusted above 5,000 feet, but less than predicted that night and it was sunny for the Mist Trail in YV the next day. We bailed to the southern Sierra before the big wave dumped 1-2 feet of snow. This storm is not likely to be like that, especially during the weekend, but keep an eye on conditions and bail or change plans if you get concerned about getting lost or getting too wet and cold. There will be others around in a well marked area, not far in the backcountry, and you'll have a map (I assume). It sounds fun and relaxing to me. The wildflowers, falls, and CA newts should be great!

IMAG6551.jpg

[Hobbes]

Jim & I are starting the PCT section A from the border on Tues. Before this storm developed, it had been 90+ in the desert for weeks, causing us to tentatively revamp our packing strategy. For example, I was thinking of walking in my running shorts, wearing sandals, taking only a windshirt and making a quickie 'tech blanket' sans tent to get through the nights. We also created sunshades in which to wait out the afternoon heat. Hiking plans revolved around bolting pre-dawn and hiking into the night.

Now, it's back to my standard Sierra kit, which is poncho, tarp-tent, fleece, down vest, etc. No more sandals, just my heavier trail runners. The problem is, you have to carry all this plus around 15lbs of water, while trying to hike 22-25 miles per day.

On the plus side, this storm will make the entire day useable ie no need to chill from noon-5pm. Also, no need to hike at extreme early/late hours. Still, when I first saw that snow was forecast on Mt Laguna the night we were going to be there, I was pretty happy there were going to be at least some challenging conditions. It's been scaled back to rain, but it's still supposed to be cold (near freezing at night).

[maverick]

Hobbes wrote:

Now, it's back to my standard Sierra kit, which is poncho, tarp-tent, fleece, down vest, etc. No more sandals, just my heavier
trail runners. The problem is, you have to carry all this plus around 15lbs of water, while trying to hike 22-25 miles per day.

I would rather be out in the backcountry than at work any day Karl. lol