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
| June | 17 | Monday Night Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 57. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph after midnight. |
| June | 18 | Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 90. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm. |
| June | 18 | Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 58. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph after midnight. |
| June | 19 | Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
| June | 19 | Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 57. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. |
| June | 20 | Thursday Sunny, with a high near 84. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. |
| June | 20 | Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 53. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. |
| June | 21 | Friday Sunny, with a high near 80. East wind around 5 mph becoming west in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. |
| June | 21 | Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 51. West wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight. |
| June | 22 | Saturday Sunny, with a high near 82. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm. |
| June | 22 | Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 53. West wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast after midnight. |
| June | 23 | Sunday Sunny, with a high near 82. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west southwest in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. |
| June | 23 | Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming south southeast after midnight. |
| June | 24 | Monday Sunny, with a high near 80. East southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph |
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.
| June | 17 | Monday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 39. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. |
| June | 18 | Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 64. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| June | 18 | Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 40. West wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight. |
| June | 19 | Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 65. West wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| June | 19 | Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 38. Southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. |
| June | 20 | Thursday Sunny, with a high near 60. Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. |
| June | 20 | Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 34. Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. |
| June | 21 | Friday Sunny, with a high near 55. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. |
| June | 21 | Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 31. West wind 10 to 15 mph becoming northeast in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. |
| June | 22 | Saturday Sunny, with a high near 56. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the morning. |
| June | 22 | Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. West wind around 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. |
| June | 23 | Sunday Sunny, with a high near 58. South wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon. |
| June | 23 | Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 34. West southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. |
| June | 24 | Monday Sunny, with a high near 56. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 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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