For the internet savvy, one can check any of the many CDEC remote sensor sites near areas one is visiting:
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/
Below is something too, part of today's Yosemite report. Note one of the Tuolumne sites, Gin Flat which of course is along highway 120 at 7k shows 92 inches of snow depth. And in the last 48 hours they have had over 11 inches of rain on top of it! ...David
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April 1 Snow Survey Results
Park personnel have completed the April 1 snow surveys. March was wet! There was measurable precipitation in Yosemite Valley on 20 days in March; for the period February 26th through April 3rd, we had precipitation 26 out of 37 days. Overall, the water content of the snowpack went from about 90% of average at the end of February to about 130% of average at the end of March. This is somewhat behind last year, when the water content was 163% of average on April 1, but the current series of storms forecast for early April may should increase those figures above last year's totals, particularly at the higher elevations. While these numbers are impressive, the total gain in the snowpack doesn't quite match the "miracle March" of 1991. Figures for individual snow courses are shown below.
Course Elev. Date Depth H2O Density 4/1 Avg. %of Avg.
Tuolumne River Basin
Dana Meadows 9,800 30-MAR 124.6 47.6 38% 31.1 153%
Rafferty Meadows 9,400 27-MAR 121.1 51.6 43% 32.8 157%
New Grace Meadow 8,900 30-MAR 175.3 72.8 42% 48.0 152%
Tuolumne Meadows 8,600 29-MAR 98.1 32.7 33% 22.7 144%
Wilma Lake 8,000 30-MAR 166.8 60.6 36% 43.2 140%
Paradise Meadow 7,650 30-MAR 141.0 50.0 35% 39.9 125%
Vernon Lake 6,700 30-MAR 77.9 27.9 36% 22.4 125%
Beehive Meadow 6,500 30-MAR 81.0 27.6 34% 23.5 117%
Basin Average Pct. of April 1: 129%
Merced River Basin
Snow Flat 8,700 25-MAR 150.5 59.5 40% 44.5 134%
Ostrander Lake 8,200 30-MAR 123.6 48.9 40% 32.6 150%
Tenaya Lake 8,150 26-MAR 117.6 40.9 35% 33.6 122%
Gin Flat (Course) 7,000 26-MAR 91.9 36.2 39% 32.0 113%
Peregoy Meadows 7,000 01-APR 93.7 29.7 32% 29.3 101%
Basin Average Pct. of April 1: 124% (M. Fincher - 4/4/06)