Share Your Worst October Weather Experience

[rlown]

Probably shouldn't be concerned. Like others have said; look at the forecast before you go. there is that lil disturbance in Mexico that might work it's way up. Note that the hunters are out now.. Wear orange..

[FeetFirst]

I would just like to add that the road that you have to drive back down in said potential storm should be considered as well.

A couple of years ago I was coming back from a late season trip (maybe Oct., but I can't remeber for sure) that had me hiking out in over a foot of new snow. No big deal, since I expected some snow and was prepared, but then I got back to my car and realized that I had to drive back down this super steep Forest Service road and cross an old metal plank bridge with no guard rails. Longest and scariest 12 miles of my life. I now take the whole trip into consideration.

[maverick]

Yes, the drive out should be taken into consideration when planing a trip, especially
in the late season.
The drive through Yosemite with the snow falling, quite heavy at times, was
exhilarating, beautiful, but hairy at some parts too.
Did bring chains, but did not have to use them.
Also a shovel in the trunk comes in handy to get the snow from around the car when
one gets back to the trailhead.

[SSSdave]

Nothing worst though have skied a few times at Kirkwood late October when big 2 foot deep storms have hit and opened the mountain for the season for limited skiing. That is always a treat. Already bought my season pass for this coming winter so will need to get around to working on my gear.

Only Sierra backpacking I've done in October is usually 1 or 2 nights just a day in from trailheads that will not close. And actually like to do so when a minor dusting is forecast in order to get some fresh snow pics. Because sunrise is due east now, there are some places with due east west orientations that only receive usable sunrise lighting at this time of year like Horton Creek canyon. Generally don't like the long nights in a tent. However frequently am about in the mountains during October for fall foliage, mainly accessing the Eastern Sierra from US395 areas. So either car tent camp or sleep in my Subarus. I prefer the later because it is much more comfortable reading when cold. And have been snowed on often though most are dustings. NWS weather forecasts have often been off some. Usually that may be a storm predicted to hit from I80 north surprises forecasters by moving a lot further south. In any case I don't have any horror stories as I am rather conservative. This feature on my web site has a number of snow and aspen grove images plus their stories.

http://www.davidsenesac.com/Fall_2007/fall_2007.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Am planning on taking off a few days maybe next week or following week depending on how leaf reports go.

[no2haven]

Fairly timely topic, since the weather for this coming weekend (Oct 1st!) is trending towards stormy and colder, with possibly the first significant snowfall of the season.

Where is there a forecast for "significant" snow??? I'm supposed to be out there starting about midweek for about six days so slightly concerned, especially after reading maverick's post.

Sorry, about that - I'm already getting into "enough hiking, lets get snow on the ground so I can ski" mode, so that might have been slightly ambitious wording.

I also wouldn't worry yet, but would be keeping an eye out on the weekend-early next week...as rlwon said there's a tropical disturbance that might make its way up here, and if the timing's right, produce a nice little storm. Its Autumn, though, which means weather patterns are changing, and forecast models don't deal well with large-scale change. So it might end up being perfect weather anyway There'll probably be a clearer picture before you leave...

A good source for more nuance than the boilerplate weather.com forecast is reading the NWS forecast discussions. Reno and Sac give good write-ups of what's on the horizon for the next 5-7 days (which aren't always reflected in the posted extended forecasts).

[tim]

The current forecast is for 6-8 inches of snow above 8-9K ft on about Wed/Thur next week (Oct 5/6), which is much worse than anything expected for this weekend.

The Mammoth Mountain weather forum (http://forums.mammothmountain.com/viewforum.php?f=8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) is always a good place to check for forecasts/speculation in the fall/winter/spring (though expect a bias towards people hoping for snow

[Captain Slappy]

A good source for more nuance than the boilerplate weather.com forecast is reading the NWS forecast discussions. Reno and Sac give good write-ups of what's on the horizon for the next 5-7 days (which aren't always reflected in the posted extended forecasts).

Good deal. Will be keeping a close eye on the forecast the next two days and possibly packing some gaiters.

The current forecast is for 6-8 inches of snow above 8-9K ft on about Wed/Thur next week (Oct 5/6), which is much worse than anything expected for this weekend.

I'll be out by Wed. at the latest. Thanks for the link. Apologies for hijacking the thread.

[no2haven]

Yup, this weekend is looking better, but mid-next week is starting to look quite wet. Definitely keep an eye out though, since this far out model timing isn't an exact science and things could easily move up (or back) a day or two. Enjoy your trip!

Back to the regularly scheduled October stories...I've been lucky and just had nice, cold, clear conditions when I've gone out. I have some fun storm driving stories from ski season, however, like the one about how I learned that the Mormon Immigrant Trail ISN'T plowed in the winter. Maybe that belongs in the "Maps lie" thread, however...

[fishmonger]

The current forecast is for 6-8 inches of snow above 8-9K ft on about Wed/Thur next week (Oct 5/6), which is much worse than anything expected for this weekend.

gee, guess it was a good thing I could not get away from work and got sick on top of that. My original plan was to hit the Muir Trail on Oct 4...

Now I'm hoping to head out west in March or April again, so let's see how much snow La Nina can dump this winter for me before I get there.

[tim]

It could now be up to 2ft of snow from Yosemite northwards on Tuesday night (a week from today). Be careful out there!!