American Avocets feed on Alkali Flies as the near-perfect summer weather continues at Mono Lake. Photo by Claire Skinner.

With Tioga Road (Hwy 120) closed west of White Wolf in Yosemite National Park, Labor Day weekend crowds will be smaller than usual in the Mono Basin. Smoke from the Big Meadow Fire near Crane Flat is mostly going north of the Mono Basin. The fire is now 70% contained but road closures will remain in effect at least through the holiday weekend. Click here for the latest on the Yosemite fire.

WEATHER
Warm days and cool nights. Highs near 80 and lows in the 40s. Smoke in the north part of the Mono Basin is intermittent, with some clear and some smoky days. Skies over (more…)

Work progresses on the Grant Lake Reservoir outlet gate to Rush Creek. Photo by Greg Reis.

Mono Lake dropped a 1/4 foot in July, and stood at 6382.3 feet above sea level on August 1st. This is very similar to the forecasted July drop in lake level of 0.2 feet.

Lee Vining precipitation in July was below average, despite a month full of thunderstorms. Average rainfall is about 1/2 an inch—only 0.12 inches fell, total. This followed a wet May and June, so April-through-July precipitation is slightly above the 2-inch average.

At the end of June, total Rush Creek runoff was almost exactly as forecasted—about 101% of average—but the monthly pattern wasn’t. April and May had higher runoff than forecasted and June was lower than forecasted, mainly as a result (more…)

This week we received LADWP’s forecast for Mono Lake levels for the 2009 Runoff Year (April 1, 2009-March 31, 2010). The lake is expected to be at its peak right now (the current elevation of Mono Lake is 6382.53 feet above sea level ), and fall about 1/2 foot by early September, and fall a total of about (more…)

Since the first week in May, cold and windy weather has been replaced by warm and calmer weather. This sudden change caused trees to leaf out, flowers to bloom, bugs and birds to come out, and snowmelt to dramatically increase. Sonora Pass opened last week and Tioga Pass opened yesterday. The last two weeks have been a burst of springtime activity! (more…)

SNOWPACK
Some snow sensors in the Mono Basin are reporting above-average snowpack! Gem Pass snow water content is 108% of the March 10th average! This is 96% of the April 1st average–the typical date of peak snowpack in the Sierra. Most other snow measurements in the area are (more…)