Spring Update: Summer is coming
June 18th, 2009 by Greg, Information & Restoration Specialist
Two days until the Summer Solstice, and sure enough it is starting to warm up, but not yet starting to dry out–it rained for about an hour last night. The Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua starts tomorrow, lots of birders are in town, and excitement is in the air!
WACKY WEATHER
It is still raining almost every day. This strange weather has been with us for a month. Lee Vining has gotten about one-third of an inch of rain so far this month and Reno has had its second-wettest June since 1880. Highs have been in the 60s–the average June high is 77 and we have not yet had a single day in the 70s–and lows have been about average, in the 40s. Saturday is the first day in a very long time with no showers in the forecast.
BUGS ARE BACK
The warmer weather is allowing the no-see-ums to return. It is still too cold in the high country for mosquitoes.
FLOWERY FLORA
Below the pinyon zone and under the daily morning fog that hangs along the Sierra Front, flowers rooted in wet earth continue to bloom profusely. Multitudes of mariposa lilies, layers of lupine, symphonies of sulphur buckwheat, palettes of paintbrush, wonderful wallflowers, amazing arrowleaf, and more are blooming among the sagebrush. Desert peach, bitterbrush, and gooseberry have all gone to seed with their intriguing fruits.
BUSTLING BIRDS
There is a spring frenzy of birds and birders. The Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua is this weekend! See our recent sightings page.
HIGH COUNTRY SNOW LINGERS
Snow lingers in the high country, with a foot of snow in the Saddlebag Lake Resort parking lot preventing it from opening. It is unlikely the road will open before the resort opens. All other campgrounds are open. UPDATE: AS OF JUNE 20 THE SADDLEBAG ROAD WAS OPEN.
RUNOFF
Warmer weather is increasing the runoff again but not enough snow remains to increase flows much above current levels. Grant Lake Reservoir is still rising rapidly and has reached normal operating levels. Mono Lake is still rising slowly and currently stands at 6382.5 feet above sea level. Word is just in that the Water Board has agreed with the Mono Lake Committee that a 200 cfs for 5 days peak flow is required in lower Rush Creek this spring. With construction work occurring on the Grant Lake Outlet, it remains to be seen whether that flow can be delivered. Click here for more information.
