Yosemite National Park occupies 1,190 sq miles of some of the most beautiful landscape in the world, but the the one mile wide by seven mile long valley floor makes up the most popular part of the park. This small section of real estate is where the vast majority of people spend most of their time. During the busy summer months the valley looks more like a crowded metropolitan city park than a dedicated wilderness area.
But why the crowds congregate to this small little plot of land is by no means an accident. They are there because Yosemite Valley provides some of the best scenery to be found anywhere in the world. John Muir called it the "Crown Jewel of the Sierra Nevada"
Weather in Yosemite can range from 100 degrees in the valley during the summer to below zero in the upper elevations of the park during the winter. Yosemite Valley that rests at an elevation of about 4,000 feet has fairly mild temperatures throughout the year, but as you go higher, the temperature (in general) decreases 1 degree Fahrenheit for every 300 feet of elevation gain. Precipitation also increases 2 to 4 inches for each 300 feet of elevation gain reaching a maximum at about 5000 to 6000 feet. You will hit these elevations along the Mist Trail between Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. Ninety five percent of the precipitation (both in rain and snow form) falls between October and May, with more than half (typically) falling in January, February, and March.
But why the crowds congregate to this small little plot of land is by no means an accident. They are there because Yosemite Valley provides some of the best scenery to be found anywhere in the world. John Muir called it the "Crown Jewel of the Sierra Nevada"
Weather in Yosemite can range from 100 degrees in the valley during the summer to below zero in the upper elevations of the park during the winter. Yosemite Valley that rests at an elevation of about 4,000 feet has fairly mild temperatures throughout the year, but as you go higher, the temperature (in general) decreases 1 degree Fahrenheit for every 300 feet of elevation gain. Precipitation also increases 2 to 4 inches for each 300 feet of elevation gain reaching a maximum at about 5000 to 6000 feet. You will hit these elevations along the Mist Trail between Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. Ninety five percent of the precipitation (both in rain and snow form) falls between October and May, with more than half (typically) falling in January, February, and March.
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THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR YOSEMITE VALLEY AT THE 3,998 FT LEVEL
| January | 26 | Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Calm wind becoming north northeast around 5 mph. |
| January | 27 | Monday Sunny, with a high near 49. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. |
| January | 27 | Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 33. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| January | 28 | Tuesday Increasing clouds, with a high near 49. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning. |
| January | 28 | Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the evening. |
| January | 29 | Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 51. Northeast wind around 5 mph. |
| January | 29 | Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 35. Northeast wind around 5 mph. |
| January | 30 | Thursday Partly sunny, with a high near 56. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning. |
| January | 30 | Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. Northeast wind around 5 mph. |
| January | 31 | Friday Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning. |
| January | 31 | Friday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. North wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast in the evening. |
| February | 1 | Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. East northeast wind around 5 mph. |
| February | 1 | Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. East northeast wind around 5 mph. |
| February | 2 | Sunday Sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
To the left is frozen Ellery Lake (9,489 feet) The Lake is located along the Tioga Road just below the Tioga Pass (9,943 feet) This photo was taken on June 6th, 2010 (opening day for the Tioga Pass Road that year).
When the Tioga Pass Road opens varies from year to year (depending on weather and snow conditions). Tioga Pass is the Eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park. It is the highest highway pass in California and in the Sierra Nevada.
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR TUOLUMNE MEADOWS AT 8,650 FEET
Check out the big temperature drop when comparing the higher elevation of Tuolumne Meadows to the Valley Floor's forecast as noted above.
| January | 26 | Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 15. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. |
| January | 27 | Monday Sunny, with a high near 34. South southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm. |
| January | 27 | Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 18. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the evening. |
| January | 28 | Tuesday Partly sunny, with a high near 34. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 10 to 20 mph. |
| January | 28 | Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. West wind around 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. |
| January | 29 | Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. North wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. |
| January | 29 | Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. North wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. |
| January | 30 | Thursday Partly sunny, with a high near 40. North wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| January | 30 | Thursday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. North wind around 10 mph. |
| January | 31 | Friday Partly sunny, with a high near 44. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the morning. |
| January | 31 | Friday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. West wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| February | 1 | Saturday Sunny, with a high near 48. East wind 10 to 15 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. |
| February | 1 | Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. West wind around 10 mph becoming south after midnight. |
| February | 2 | Sunday Sunny, with a high near 44. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. |
Above Weather Report Powered by the National Weather Service
Half Dome Cable Ladder to the Left
Psalm 103:11-13
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
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