Weather on Mt Whitney varies greatly during the year and can certainly be unpredictable at times. Temperatures at the lower elevations are generally warm. At higher elevations in the night, even in the summer months temperatures can fall below freezing. Typical winter temperatures above 9,500 feet range from -14 degrees F to 12 degrees at night and from 15 - 50 degrees F during the day.
Ninety five percent of total precipitation (which includes both rain and snow) falls between the months of October and May, with more than half falling in January, February, and March. The frequency of summer showers increase at higher elevations and correspondingly there are more cloudy days. But even though these thundershowers are of short duration they are still a danger to the hiker/climber on the summit or high ridges on Mt Whitney and other Sierra Peaks. That being said, if you detect a thunderstorm developing, vacate the summit and high ridges at once. The
first recorded fatality on Mt Whitney was due to lightning.
Snow is one of the most spectacular features in the Sierra Nevada (the second snowiest mountain range on the continent) but due to the fact that Mt Whitney resides in the southern portion of the Sierra Nevada, it does not get nearly the amount of snow pack that the Palisade or Mammoth Lakes region do.
Latest Trail Conditions as of March 18th
Snow and ice are melting out at a fast rate at this point, but there is still a fair amount of snow covering the Trail, especially above outpost camp (10,000 feet). Need to get an early start to avoid as much post-holing as possible. Permits are there for the asking, but be prepared for plenty of hard work to reach the Summit.
MT WHITNEY AERIAL VIEW - We are proud to have the following link added to our Mt Whitney lineup. It is a mixed slide-show showing many key features of Mt Whitney and the surrounding areas from both the ground and the air. So click on the following link, turn up the music, use the biggest monitor you got in full screen video mode, and enjoy high resolution photos of Mt Whitney.
Mt Whitney Aerial Slide-show also check out our Mt Whitney Aerial Flight Video (a moving view completely around Mt Whitney and its surrounding neighbors).
TRAIL GUIDE - for an in-depth write up on hiking from the Trailhead at Whitney Portal to the Summit, please check out our page on the Mt Whitney Trail.
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE WHITNEY PORTAL AREA AT 8,300 FT
The Whitney Portal Hosts the Trail-head for Hikers, Backpackers and Climbers on Mt Whitney
| Tuesday 4/7 Sunny, with a high near 58. West southwest wind 6 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon. |
| Tuesday Night 4/7 Mostly clear, with a low around 42. West wind around 10 mph. |
| Wednesday 4/8 Sunny, with a high near 58. West wind 6 to 11 mph becoming east southeast in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. |
| Wednesday Night 4/8 Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. West wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. |
| Thursday 4/9 Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. West wind 8 to 17 mph becoming southeast in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. |
| Thursday Night 4/9 Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. |
| Friday 4/10 A slight chance of rain and snow showers between 11am and noon, then a slight chance of rain showers after noon. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 20%. |
| Friday Night 4/10 A chance of rain showers before 11pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 11pm and 2am, then a chance of snow showers after 2am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. |
| Saturday 4/11 Snow showers likely, mainly after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. |
| Saturday Night 4/11 A chance of snow showers, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. |
| Sunday 4/12 A chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 43. |
| Sunday Night 4/12 A chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. |
| Monday 4/13 Sunny, with a high near 46. |
The Photo Above Shows Trail Camp on Mt Whitney at an elevation of 12,000 ft.
Most backpackers/climbers on Mt Whitney use this as a base camp for Summit day.
Plenty of great sites already established so it makes for easy setup.2,496 feet of elevation left to gain before
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WHITNEY Trail Camp AT 12,000 FTAs mentioned above, most backpackers/climbers set up camp here before going for the summit.
| Tuesday 4/7 Sunny, with a high near 38. Southwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. |
| Tuesday Night 4/7 Mostly clear, with a low around 26. Southwest wind 11 to 13 mph becoming north northwest in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. |
| Wednesday 4/8 Sunny, with a high near 39. West southwest wind 10 to 18 mph becoming east southeast in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. |
| Wednesday Night 4/8 Partly cloudy, with a low around 24. West wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. |
| Thursday 4/9 Mostly sunny, with a high near 36. Breezy, with a west wind 13 to 18 mph increasing to 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. |
| Thursday Night 4/9 Partly cloudy, with a low around 21. Breezy. |
| Friday 4/10 Scattered snow showers after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly sunny, with a high near 31. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. |
| Friday Night 4/10 A chance of snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. Breezy. |
| Saturday 4/11 Snow showers likely, mainly after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 24. Breezy. |
| Saturday Night 4/11 A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15. |
| Sunday 4/12 A chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 23. Breezy. |
| Sunday Night 4/12 A chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 13. Breezy. |
| Monday 4/13 Mostly sunny, with a high near 26. |
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WHITNEY'S SUMMIT AT 14,508 FT
| Tuesday 4/7 Sunny, with a high near 30. West southwest wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. |
| Tuesday Night 4/7 Mostly clear, with a low around 20. Southwest wind around 15 mph becoming north northwest in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. |
| Wednesday 4/8 Sunny, with a high near 31. West wind 11 to 20 mph becoming east in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. |
| Wednesday Night 4/8 Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. Breezy, with a west wind 17 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. |
| Thursday 4/9 Mostly sunny, with a high near 28. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 14 to 19 mph increasing to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 37 mph. |
| Thursday Night 4/9 Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. Breezy. |
| Friday 4/10 Scattered snow showers after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly sunny, with a high near 25. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. |
| Friday Night 4/10 A chance of snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 12. Breezy. |
| Saturday 4/11 Snow showers likely, mainly after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 16. Breezy. |
| Saturday Night 4/11 A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 9. |
| Sunday 4/12 A chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 15. Breezy. |
| Sunday Night 4/12 A chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 7. Breezy. |
| Monday 4/13 Mostly sunny, with a high near 19. |
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Matt 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
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