Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Overnight snow blankets the Mono Basin

Seven inches of snow fell overnight Saturday, blanketing everything in the Mono Basin with snow, including the islands. Photo by Andrew Youssef.
Seven inches of snow fell overnight Saturday, blanketing everything in the Mono Basin with snow, including the islands. Photo by Andrew Youssef.

For days we have all been constantly checking the weather forecast, refreshing radar maps, and hoping that the predictions of an inch or two of snow would deliver. This morning, I pulled open my blinds and my jaw dropped. There was about half a foot of snow on the ground and I was thrilled. Having grown up in Georgia, any amount of snow is exciting for me, but this amount of snow—especially during this five-year drought—made me giddy. In my excitement, I actually took out my cross-country skis and skied along the road to the office before it was plowed! Along the Highway 395 corridor, between seven and 12 inches of snow fell overnight. I hope you enjoy these photos of the first big snow of the season.

It's not every day you get to ski to work! Photo by Andrew Youssef.
It’s not every day you get to ski to work! Photo by Andrew Youssef.

Crews are working hard to clear all the roads, however, several roads still have chain restrictions and many passes and roads are closed including Highway 120 (Tioga Pass), Highway 108 (Sonora Pass), Highway 89 (Monitor Pass), and Highway 270 (to Bodie State Historic Park).

Snow falling along Lee Vining Creek on the morning of November 27. Photo by Andrew Youssef.
Snow falling along Lee Vining Creek on the morning of November 27. Photo by Andrew Youssef.

Highway 395 has remained open and you can still access Mono Lake. For the most updated highway information, contact Caltrans at (800) 427-7623 or visit their website. For more information, you can call the Mono Lake Committee at (760) 647-6595 or visit the Information Center & Bookstore, open from 9:00am to 5:00pm daily.

The clouds lifted in Lee Vining Canyon on Sunday morning, revealing all the snowy peaks above. Photo by Bartshe Miller.
The clouds lifted in Lee Vining Canyon on Sunday morning, revealing snowy peaks above. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

4 Comments

  1. YAAY!!
    Thank you for the snowfall information and the great photos. Here’s hoping that it the beginning of a wet (snow in the mountains, rain on the coast) winter.
    Peter

  2. And it was gorgeous! We had to leave early Sunday morning and went to bed Saturday night with just a few snow flakes in the air. Get up in the morning and saw a winter wonderland. One of the few times we have been the “first car out” on the back streets of Lee Vining. We hope we left a good groove in the snow for vehicles following us.

  3. Thanks for the lovely photos. I never get over to Mono in the winter, so this glimpse into the winter wonderland left by last week’s storm is much appreciated!