October 2010, the Mono Basin’s warmest October since 2005, set a new record for precipitation in Lee Vining: 3.74 inches! With data going back to 1988, last month beat the old record of 2.41 inches set in 1992 by 1.33 inches! It also beat the 1950-1988 October precipitation record from the Mono Inn, the previous home of our weather instruments (5 miles north). Median October precipitation in Lee Vining is 0.23 inches, usually our third driest month after June and July.

At Cain Ranch, just five miles south but slightly drier, 3.11 inches of rain set a new record going all the way back to 1931! (more…)

The sign said “closed.” We were at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and the bulletin board showed that the trail I was on seven years ago—the only place I have seen a California Condor—was closed. We were headed towards Limekiln State Park, but the bulletin board informed us that parts of that park were still closed due to a fire—a fire that burned over two years ago.

The dismal condition of California’s State Parks couldn’t have been clearer. They literally have become a joke—a sad joke that was repeated often on our September trip. It seemed like the parks were expensive to enjoy, closed, and trashed. (more…)

“What we are asking, what Mono Lake is asking all of us is ‘where are we going to draw the line?’ If we don’t share some water with Mono Lake what will be next? Will it be Lake Tahoe, will it be the Eel River, the Yukon? Will it be on and on until the last of our singing rivers and beautiful lakes are gone—because we’ve taken every last drop, we’ve watched the last waterfowl, and the last salmon, follow the California State emblem, the California Grizzly, into oblivion? It is a battleground in that sense: it’s asking us: ‘how much are we going to share with the earth?’”

—David Gaines, co-founder of the Mono Lake Committee

You hear it all the time: there isn’t enough water. We are running out of water. But it isn’t true—there is no problem with water supply, in most cases. The problem is almost always too much demand. We are overextending ourselves. Poor decisions about (more…)

Tioga Pass (Highway 120) reopened this morning (as of 10:30 am) on our first sunny morning of the week. Columbus Day weekend visitors will be happy to know that the drive from Yosemite to the Mono Basin does not require the longer wintertime route to the north over Carson Pass (Highway 88). (more…)

Rain delays the Mars rover's Mono Lake excursion.

On Sunday, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA brought a prototype Mars rover to Mono Lake, staging it under tents at the Scenic Area Visitor Center while they prepared it to go down to the lake. The plan was to test the rover’s sampling equipment and procedures in an environment that, while unlike Mars, would provide some Mars-like challenges. In the search for evidence of past life on Mars, scientists think that areas on Mars that had terminal lakes like Mono Lake might have sustained life, and preserved evidence of it.

This isn’t the first time NASA has tested its methods at Mono Lake. In August 1995, NASA used (more…)

October 1, 2010 was the first day of the 2011 Water Year—Happy New Year! A Water Year in the Mono Basin runs from October 1 to September 30th. This lumps the winter’s precipitation into the same year as the following summer’s runoff, as well as the next year’s growing season.

The 2010 Water Year (October 1, 2009 — September 30, 2010) was near-normal (more…)

Tioga (Highway 120) and Sonora (Highway 108) passes closed this morning due to inclement weather. Rockslides and snow were reportedly responsible. With up to a foot of snow possible at Tioga Pass through tomorrow night, expect these passes to reopen no earlier than Wednesday. Check road conditions for the latest updates. (more…)

On Sunday, I climbed Mt. Andrea Lawrence. That is not an official name for the peak … yet. Last week the House of Representatives passed HR 5194, the “Mt. Andrea Lawrence Designation Act of 2010.” People are already referring to the peak by this name, and (more…)

On July 28th, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board a feasibility report in response to the stream scientists’ Synthesis of Instream Flow Recommendations. The feasibility report primarily focuses on meeting the flow recommendations using the existing aqueduct infrastructure and defers additional analysis to the future.

Not surprisingly, an aqueduct system that was built 70 years ago for the purpose of maximizing water diversions presents some challenges in delivering precise flows to the creeks. The feasibility of retooling this infrastructure to meet today’s needs is a central question as this process moves forward.

To consider public comments on these matters, the State Water Board will hold an informal public workshop on Tuesday October 12, 2010, at 10:00 am at the Community Presbyterian Church at the corner of Mono Lake Avenue and Third Street in Lee Vining.

Click here to return to the Streamflow Center.

Record heat elsewhere in California means pleasant summer-like temperatures for the Mono Basin at the end of September. Daytime highs in the 80s are followed by chilly nights in the 40s. Slow cooling of about ten degrees is expected into next week with a chance of thunderstorms over the weekend.

These warm temperatures are keeping trees green (more…)