Re: Lightening, Heavy Rain, Flash Flood Warnings in the Sierra
Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:02 am
I had a trip out Bishop planned for last weekend with plans to camp at around 11,500 right below the crest. Because one in our party was a Sierra rookie, we called an audible and changed the trip location to the lakes around Iron Mtn. in the southern Ritter Range. I did not think it would fun for a newbie to potentially get rained/hailed on somewhat vigerously while taking cover from significant lightning. I am not sure how the weather ended up further South, but on Saturday night at Ashley Lake around 9:00 PM and for the next hour + we were up, we watched the most intense and concentrated lightning storm I have seen in some time off in the distance to the NE. It was too far away to hear anything, but the sky lit up every 10 seconds or so as the area continued to get hammered. When we got into Mammoth on Monday, one of the women working the shuttle service told us it was in the White Mtns. It was pretty impressive, but also scary.