Yosemite Blog

Just to put things in perspective, on January 2nd, 1997 the Merced River peaked at 23.4′ at the Pohono Bridge. That’s 13.4′ above flood stage. According to the CDEC, yesterday’s flood peaked at 11.24′.

I expect that with the thunderheads headed Yosemite way today and a weeks worth of temps in the 90’s, we might just beat that record.

Here’s an image of Lower Yosemite Falls during the flooding yesterday. All I have to say is, WOW! I don’t believe I have ever seen that much water pouring over the fall.

Photo courtesy National Park Service.

Here’s another image from the National Park Service. This one shows Cooks Meadow with Half Dome reflected in the flood waters.

Photo courtesy National Park Service.

Here’s a good example of what’s being released to the press.

SignOnSanDiego: “Warm weather and an unusually large, melting snowpack caused heavy flooding of the Yosemite Valley floor Monday, cutting off access into the park, officials said.

Traffic was closed until further notice, and visitors were being advised to check weather and road conditions before traveling to the park.

Some campgrounds, parking areas, and lodging facilities were affected by the water.

But rangers said they expected the flood to recede soon.

‘We’d be really surprised if it lasts more than 24 hours, but no one can ever predict Mother Nature,’ said Adrienne Freeman, a ranger with the park.

All campgrounds in the East Valley were also closed Monday.

Other parts of the park remained open, including the Wawona area and areas accessible through Highway 120 West including Big Oak Flat and the Merced and Tuolomne Groves of Giant Sequoias.”

Got an email from Edie who is trapped in the Park.

“Housekeeping camp seems to have gotten the worst of it.
Once worker here told me he was wading in waist-deep water
evacuating campers.

There’s a scramble to get housing for the night–not sure
where they’re putting people up. ”

She also posted earlier on her LiveJournal blog:

“I was pretty sure this would happen; The valley has been closed to all incoming and outgoing traffic due to flooding. Nothing near the floods of 1997, but Sentinel bridge is awash, and the roads leading in/out of the valley are under water. We had warm weather Saturday and Sunday, and heavy rain this morning. As a result, the snow pack (at 170-180% of normal) has melted very fast. The Merced River is a chocolate brown, and today at noon I witnesses a large tree floating very fast down river, roots and all.

People seemed to take it in stride–after all, there are worse places to be stranded. Several campgrounds had to be evacuated, and efforts have been made to find housing for them.

I took a series of beautiful shots with my cell phone camera, and stopped by the Ansel Adams gallery to see if they could print them for me. Nope. Going to have to wait till I can get out of the valley and hit some of the drug stores in the area.

One shot was of Yosemite Falls in full flow, with the sun shining through clouds. Another was of clouds creeping aong the face of Glacier Point. I’ll see what I can do to get them online. I can’t promise much, we are talking about a low-rez image at best.”

Keep your feet dry, Edie.