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
| July | 22 | Saturday Areas of smoke. Sunny, with a high near 90. West wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. |
| July | 22 | Saturday Night Areas of smoke. Mostly clear, with a low around 55. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. |
| July | 23 | Sunday Sunny, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind becoming west southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. |
| July | 23 | Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 56. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. |
| July | 24 | Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. |
| July | 24 | Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. |
| July | 25 | Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 87. South southwest wind around 5 mph. |
| July | 25 | Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52. South southeast wind around 5 mph becoming northeast in the evening. |
| July | 26 | Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 88. West northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the morning. |
| July | 26 | Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 52. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm. |
| July | 27 | Thursday Sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
| July | 27 | Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 53. South southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. |
| July | 28 | Friday Sunny, with a high near 89. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southwest 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.
| July | 22 | Saturday Sunny, with a high near 72. South southwest wind around 5 mph. |
| July | 22 | Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 40. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northeast after midnight. |
| July | 23 | Sunday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. |
| July | 23 | Sunday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. |
| July | 24 | Monday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 68. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning. |
| July | 24 | Monday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 39. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. |
| July | 25 | Tuesday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 65. South southwest wind around 5 mph. |
| July | 25 | Tuesday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Southwest wind around 5 mph. |
| July | 26 | Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. South southwest wind around 5 mph. |
| July | 26 | Wednesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. West wind around 5 mph. |
| July | 27 | Thursday Sunny, with a high near 69. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| July | 27 | Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 37. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| July | 28 | Friday Sunny, with a high near 69. Southwest wind around 5 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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