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
| May | 26 | Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 43. Light and variable wind becoming east northeast 5 to 10 mph after midnight. |
| May | 27 | Saturday Sunny, with a high near 75. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable. |
| May | 27 | Saturday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. Calm wind becoming east northeast around 5 mph after midnight. |
| May | 28 | Sunday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the morning. |
| May | 28 | Sunday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. West wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast in the evening. |
| May | 29 | Memorial Day A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south southwest in the morning. |
| May | 29 | Monday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. |
| May | 30 | Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. North northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the morning. |
| May | 30 | Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. |
| May | 31 | Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 75. North wind around 5 mph becoming south southwest in the morning. |
| May | 31 | Wednesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. |
| June | 1 | Thursday Partly sunny, with a high near 77. North northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning. |
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.
| May | 26 | Friday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 31. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. |
| May | 27 | Saturday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. East wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. |
| May | 27 | Saturday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 31. East southeast wind around 5 mph. |
| May | 28 | Sunday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. East wind around 5 mph. |
| May | 28 | Sunday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. |
| May | 29 | Memorial Day A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
| May | 29 | Monday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 35. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. |
| May | 30 | Tuesday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south in the morning. |
| May | 30 | Tuesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. |
| May | 31 | Wednesday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 56. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| May | 31 | Wednesday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. South southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. |
| June | 1 | Thursday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 57. West southwest wind around 5 mph becoming south southeast in the morning. |
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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