Yosemite National Park in Winter
Sierra Sun Times file photo

February 6, 2022 - Yosemite National Park officials report the February 1 snow surveys in the park have been completed and they show that we have snow water content of 96% of average in the Tuolumne River drainage and 92% of average in the Merced River drainage. The headwaters of these two rivers are almost entirely protected within Yosemite National Park.

December snowfall in the Sierra Nevada was extraordinary with much of the mountain range seeing monthly totals that haven’t occurred in decades. January was also record breaking however, as about the driest possible, with Yosemite receiving essentially zero precipitation. If you are familiar with weather in California, you might also be familiar with the idea that is hard to apply the word “normal” to our weather, and that average is only so useful when you have such extremes.

Even though we’re looking at a 6 week, or longer, dry spell it is good to know that we’re currently close to average. We don’t have groundhogs in California, but their close cousins, yellow-bellied marmots, are snugly hibernating in Yosemite right now so we won’t be able to get their prediction for the remaining weeks of winter.
Source: NPS