View Full Version : Sierra snow report....
saltysack
02-26-2016, 16:03
Just flew over Yosemite area headed to San Francisco....wish I had a parachute!http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160226/31a7c6689ec00b9a100978e1c10fc838.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160226/43ceb33f952d3d915493d302024e3bd2.jpg
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saltysack
02-26-2016, 18:55
I'm sick to my stomach being so close yet so far!! Out west for aunts funeral....
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Wow. That is incredible! I have been keeping my eyes trained to the Cali snowpack reports for the summer hike. So far we are at 80% norm for this time in the Northern Sierras.
postholer.com
02-27-2016, 13:32
Last week we completely overhauled the Postholer Snow Page (http://www.postholer.com/postholer/). Snow pack is not trail snow. The image below shows the PCT from Kennedy Meadows south to Echo Lake in the north. On the snow page you'll find a very large graph at maximum data resolution. The mileages match up with the PCT Data Book (http://www.postholer.com/databook/Pacific-Crest-Trail/1).
There's nothing else like this for keeping tabs on trail snow.
http://www.postholer.com/postholer/cache/sierra_current.png
Last week we completely overhauled the Postholer Snow Page (http://www.postholer.com/postholer/). Snow pack is not trail snow. The image below shows the PCT from Kennedy Meadows south to Echo Lake in the north. On the snow page you'll find a very large graph at maximum data resolution. The mileages match up with the PCT Data Book (http://www.postholer.com/databook/Pacific-Crest-Trail/1).
There's nothing else like this for keeping tabs on trail snow.
http://www.postholer.com/postholer/cache/sierra_current.png
I misspoke with snowpack- I meant to say snow water equivalent (SWE) percentage. How does the NSIDC measure the SWE? via satellite? I went to their "about" section but it is a kindergarten explanation of snow. My kludged metric for the summer is this- I add the 2010-2011 year to the map from California's department of water resources (DWR) since I know that was a higher than normal year of snow (and you can see what it was like in late July if you watch Mile, Mile and a Half) and then compare this year's graph to it.
I also wonder if this information on Postholer is comparable to what I am using because they are using different average timeframes. The DWR website just says "average" so I imagine it is a total average. The Postholer average is 2003-2016 which includes some solid years of significant drought. That may account for why DWR has SWE at 80% normal, yet the JMT section of Postholer has it over 100% for most of the trail. Dunno. I'll reference both sites. Solid looking graph.
postholer.com
03-13-2016, 14:01
I also wonder if this information on Postholer is comparable to what I am using because they are using different average timeframes. The DWR website just says "average" so I imagine it is a total average. The Postholer average is 2003-2016 which includes some solid years of significant drought. That may account for why DWR has SWE at 80% normal, yet the JMT section of Postholer has it over 100% for most of the trail. Dunno. I'll reference both sites. Solid looking graph.
Yes, you are absolutely correct. The short average years needs to be considered. However, 2011, 2006 and 2005 were big snow years. But it would be nice to have more than 13 years of data.
My mantra with this is "Snow pack is not trail snow". Snow pack looks at a wide coverage area, all elevations. Trail snow looks only at the trail elevation. Look at it this way:
A wet but warmer year means more snow up high and less snow down low. The trail only traverses the high areas. This affects snow pack and trail snow averages differently.
That's my take! :)
-postholer
wornoutboots
03-17-2016, 13:53
Very Nice!! Here's a shot from my 2014 hike34225