Big snow coming to the Sierra Nevada this weekend

[John Kasaian]

Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Lake Tahoe ae supposed to get hammered, and if that's the case the roads are going to be treacherous if they are even passable..
Always have a Plan B

[Drew Wiley]

All over the news here. Short story : don't even try. Trucks were tipping over even yesterday on Hwy 80 as low as 4,000 ft. Snow levels might go down as low as 1,000 ft tonite; and higher up avalanche danger is extreme. All the ski resorts will be closed anyway. Central Sierra higher elevations (which are only mid-elevation by southern Sierra standards) have 10 to 12 feet of snowfall forecast this weekend.

[Mark J]

Can we have some of your snow ?
Still waiting here.

[Drew Wiley]

Well, it's nothing like last year, when people we still skiing in August, but more like what was once a "normal" snowfall. Of course, you might miss the party at Donner Lake.
Hard to say what they will be serving for dinner this time. On tonite's news, of all things, there was a huge Hollywood tour bus headed over the top to Reno with 85 people aboard, and a driver who had no idea it was even going to snow, or even how to drive in snow. The bus company was charged a thousand dollars to have chains put on. This is the kind of situation where cars get stuck in the snow without even a blanket or sleeping bag, and people die.

When I was a kid the school district was bigger than several New England States combined, being sparsely populated. The terrain was very steep, going from about 500 feet elevation to over 14,000 ft., although almost no one lived higher in Winter than the ski resorts around 7,000 ft. That was back when snowplows resembled bulldozers and were not as efficient as now. We lived just below the average snowline. But anytime the buses couldn't reach students higher up, school was cancelled for everyone, often for several days at a time. I loved it. Grab the sled and have fun.

[John Kasaian]

I heard that the National Park are closed for the duration. It's going to be a mess where the roads transit burn scars with all that dead timber.

[Willie]

It is winter. Snow is normal. Big snow storms and small. Sensationalizing the stories gets worse every year.
Basic preparation and supplies for a week of being snowed in is simple.

[Drew Wiley]

Central California is different. Spring with its lower elevation wildflower displays, along with almond orchard blooms, generally begins in February. But then March often brings wind and cold. That can be dicey for the orchard industry; if too many blossoms are knocked off in storms, or the bees can't pollinate them, the harvest will be disappointing.
Yet March often has the most dramatic wildflower blooms too. Everything last year was two months off - February was in April, and the high country was still in Winter until October, and then it soon started snowing again.

Here on the coast, I was walking around in a T-shirt on the beach a few days ago; but now we're slammed with the coldest storm of the season. I woke up to hail on the roof this morning, and there might be a little snow on the highest local hills. In the Sierra, snow will be extreme for a little while, but nothing like last year, and thankfully, not like all the severe drought years before that.

Sierra snows can be deep, and the snow particularly wet and heavy. The deepest annual snowfall ever recorded on earth was in the Central Sierra in the 1890's - that is, until remote snowfall recording devices were installed in the interior of the Alaska Range nearly a century later. But way back then, even deeper snow was inevitable at higher elevations not accessible during Winter.
But "official" snowfall records strictly based on standardized methodology were not taken in the 1800's; so the rules of the game might have changed. What I do know from having lived in the Sierra is that average snowfalls were much more than now, and certainly way more glaciers were still extant.

What these deep snows equate to is serious avalanche hazard - how much of that do you get in the Dakotas, Willie? - plus crushing weights atop roofs, sometimes so enclosed in snow blocking every door and window that carbon monoxide poisoning from cooking or heating becomes a real possibility (a number of those deaths occurred last year). What you call "sensationalization" is critical. Many lowland people don't even know how to drive in two inches of snow, let alone how to survive in a timeshare rental cabin completely buried by snow. Chimney fires due to burning inappropriate pitchy pine wood were an epidemic in resort areas when I grew up. Last year some people in the mountains above LA nearly starved because they were shut off for weeks, not days, by snow.

None of this is "sensationalization" - just common sense responsible weather news in a State with a very diverse population and dramatically different topographical elevations. Every year a few people literally freeze to death in their cars, stuck on some mountain road. Where I lived, the Highway Patrol had a checkpoint at the bottom of the grade and wouldn't even let people up the hill unless they had serious sleeping bags in the car, along with tire chains.

Anyway, the entrance to Yosemite Valley is relatively low elevation, so the Park might or might not reopen on Monday. I don't know the situation into Grant Grove at the edge of Sequoia NP. The only road from there into Kings Canyon might or might not reopen this Summer. It was closed the entire past year due to road damage. All the ski resorts are temporarily closed due to extreme avalanche hazard.

[Alan Klein]

It's been raining here all day in central New Jersey. No chance of avalanches is predicted.

[Drew Wiley]

Update (just checked). Sequoia/Grant Grove is strongly discouraging any attempts of entry prior to next Tuesday, and even then tire chains might be mandatory. There is no tow truck service in the Park. The storm warning in general applies to the entire length of the Sierra. Landslides are another probability even lower down, downed trees too, possibly minor bridges out. It's a messy weekend.

I just got enough of a break in the rain to rake up all the branches in my driveway which came down last night. Getting the darkroom warmed up for afternoon use.

[Thad Gerheim]

This is our avalanche warning for today-* WHERE...The southern Salmon River Mountains, Sawtooths, White
Clouds, Smokys, Western Smokys, Boulders, Pioneers, and Soldier
including the mountains above the Wood River Valley and near
Banner Summit, Atlanta, Stanley, Smiley Creek, Ketchum, Hailey,
Bellevue, Carey, Fairfield, Galena Summit, and Trail Creek
Summit.

* WHEN...Until 5 AM MST Sunday.

* IMPACTS...Natural and human-triggered avalanches large enough to
bury people, snap trees, or destroy structures are very likely
to occur. Avalanches may strike roadways, trails, and buildings
in valley bottoms.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Very dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Travel in avalanche
terrain is not recommended. Stay of off and out from below steep
slopes, slopes steeper than 30 degrees. Avalanches may be
triggered remotely, from flat terrain above, below, and to the
side steep slopes.

[Willie]

Drew wrote: "What these deep snows equate to is serious avalanche hazard - how much of that do you get in the Dakotas, Willie? "

We don't fool around with small snow slide. We have the continental Glaciers... might have to wait a few mellinia for them to come back but are still picking rocks from the fields from their last foray through here.

We are lucky & studded snow tires are OK in winter.

[Drew Wiley]

Well, glaciers retreated from the upper midwest long before they did here in our mountains, so even if a lot bigger, they must have been more timid! We still have a few left, hiding in their own deeply shaded high altitude nooks below sheer cliffs.

Yosemite Valley itself is due to open today with tire chain restrictions. I don't know about 4WD only. But if tour buses can't get in yet, it would be a nice time to be there.

[r_a_feldman]

Drew wrote: "What these deep snows equate to is serious avalanche hazard - how much of that do you get in the Dakotas, Willie? "

We don't fool around with small snow slide. We have the continental Glaciers... might have to wait a few mellinia for them to come back but are still picking rocks from the fields from their last foray through here.

We are lucky & studded snow tires are OK in winter.

I as on a birding trip to ND last June and our guide, from Minot, described overpasses over I90 completely filling up with drifted snow in past winters. There were still 20’ high piles of plowed snow in Fargo, even after a few weeks of 95-100 degree weather. You don’t need mountains to have bad winter conditions.

[Willie]

I as on a birding trip to ND last June and our guide, from Minot, described overpasses over I90 completely filling up with drifted snow in past winters. There were still 20’ high piles of plowed snow in Fargo, even after a few weeks of 95-100 degree weather. You don’t need mountains to have bad winter conditions.

No, you don't. Yesterday 6 hours of freezing rain coated everthing 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick in winds of 20-40 mph. Roads are a lot of fun. Then we had 3-4 inches of snow overnight. Driving this morning was OK for me. Studded snows make a big difference as long as you aren't stupid. I cold skid on the ice but had to push it to do so.

Driving to locations to photograph found a semi with trailer off the road. Slid off when he hit a small ridge of snow on the glazed ice. Took a couple of shots with the digital, moved a bit and two more - then again. Looked up and there was a guy in the cab - put down the camera and went to see if he was OK. Yep, waiting for a tow truck which had to come from about 60 miles away. Icy roads are a lot more dangerous than snow.

Great color and contrast and snowy branches. Three moose out in a field at one point. Fun to watch.

But, warm winter. Some lakes are already ordering mandatory fish house removal. Ice isn't thick enough and not safe. 54 degrees last week and 6 below tonight.

Clear aie, few people, family farms, small towns and no McDonalds for 90 miles.

[Mark Sampson]

The only word to describe going out to photograph in those conditions is "intrepid". I've lived through several ice storms in my life, and never want to experience another.

[angusparker]

This is our avalanche warning for today-* WHERE...The southern Salmon River Mountains, Sawtooths, White
Clouds, Smokys, Western Smokys, Boulders, Pioneers, and Soldier
including the mountains above the Wood River Valley and near
Banner Summit, Atlanta, Stanley, Smiley Creek, Ketchum, Hailey,
Bellevue, Carey, Fairfield, Galena Summit, and Trail Creek
Summit.

* WHEN...Until 5 AM MST Sunday.

* IMPACTS...Natural and human-triggered avalanches large enough to
bury people, snap trees, or destroy structures are very likely
to occur. Avalanches may strike roadways, trails, and buildings
in valley bottoms.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Very dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Travel in avalanche
terrain is not recommended. Stay of off and out from below steep
slopes, slopes steeper than 30 degrees. Avalanches may be
triggered remotely, from flat terrain above, below, and to the
side steep slopes.

I was in Ketchum last week - what a change. Hope the snow sticks around for my return!

[Drew Wiley]

What made this Sierra blizzard the past several days notable wasn't so much the depth of snow (though some places got 10 feet in just one day), but the force of the winds. Up to 190mph gusts were recorded, and that wasn't even on the higher peaks where no monitoring equipment exists!

I've been overnight atop Sierra peaks in hurricane force winds, and it is an unforgettable experience. Maybe that's routine if you're attempting Everest or K2, but you don't sleep much. The sound is like a jet right above your head all night. I was lucky to find a huge boulder at the summit with a big crack in the middle of it, just wide enough for my tent, which even there I had to hold together from the inside by my hands all night. In the morning it was completely calm, with 8 foot long icicles projecting fully horizontal off the cliff face. And what would have ordinarily been a fun glissade down a steep couloir became a hard slick ice nightmare. Cheap thrills. I deliberately did it just to find out the mettle or my tent. It flunked. Then I went out and bought a true Bibler expedition grade tent instead.