Tuolumne Meadows conditions

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TUOLUMNE
MEADOWS

WINTER CONDITIONS UPDATE
April 21, 2010
 
Weather: (April 15 through April 21)
High temp: 59° (April 18)
Low temp:  9o (April 15)
New Snow: 10”                                       
Total settled snow depth: 50” as of April 21                        
 
Ski Conditions and Weather:   We had a big warm up over the weekend; in fact we recorded our warmest daytime temperature since last fall. But that all came to a crashing halt as another strong winter storm plowed into the Sierras. We picked up another 10 inches of snow and it is still snowing with heavy cloud cover as I write this. So far for the month of April we have exceeded March’s total snowfall by over a foot. Our temperatures have plummeted over 20 degrees from just a few days ago. The snow is wet and sticky so trail breaking will be frustrating. Bring your glide wax. The storm is supposed to move out by Friday and we should be back to more spring- like weather, for the meantime. The Tuolumne River is opening up slightly as the run off increases. Caltrans is still working on plowing Highway 120 from the east side (Lee Vining). They were still at Ellery Lake (9538’) as of Monday. So be prepared to walk the first several miles beyond the gate.  
 
  
Avalanche and Snowpack Conditions: For the latest avalanche advisory for this area go to www.esavalanche.org for the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events.
           
Wildlife:  
 
We saw our usual Coyote, Pine Marten, Weasel, Chickaree, White-tailed Jack Rabbit, and many tiny rodent tracks.
 
We are still seeing the occasional Painted Lady Butterfly come through.
 
Birds heard and seen this week include Cassin’s Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Mountain Bluebird, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Clark’s Nutcracker, Common Raven, Northern Flicker, Violet-green Swallow, Yellow- rumped Warbler, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Brewer’s Blackbirds, Ruby- Crowned Kinglet, and Red Crossbills.
 
REMINDER: BEAR RESISTANT CONTAINERS ARE REQUIRED FOR OVERNIGHT TRAVEL IN THE BACKCOUNTRY .
  
Questions: We have no land line telephones or cell tower operating and the power is still out. Sorry for the inconvenience. (Jeff and Kathi, the Tuolumne winter rangers).