[pct-l] Yosemite snow survey results

[goslowgofar at yahoo.com (goslowgofar)]

 This is from the park daily report.  It has felt like an unusually warm winter where I live at @ 4600' since I have only had to shovel out my sidewalk and cars once so far!  We have gotten lots of rain here, yet I can drive up the hill a ways and still go skiing.  I may kinda like this global warming thing... (just kidding)
  Katy

  The first snow surveys of the winter have been completed (thanks, surveyors!), and both the Tuolumne and Merced drainages are 122% of Feb. 1 average. Snow depth in the park ranged from 45" at 6500' elevation (Beehive Meadow) to 111" at aptly named Snow Flat at 8700' and 110" at Grace Meadow at 8900'. The course at Tuolumne measured 65" with 37% water content.
  Due to the relatively warm patterns of the storms so far this year, the higher elevations have significantly higher water content. Densities above 8900' ran as high as 39% which is a little high for this time year, while densities at the 6500-7000' elevation were as low as 30%, which is on the low side for this time of year. This is perhaps due to rain or heavy snow which would have been absorbed at higher elevations by a snowpack that was sufficiently deep, while the lower elevations may have lost snow to the rain, and/or had the moisture just travel through the pack and into the ground. It is also interesting this year that a lot of water has fallen that has not been "captured" in the snow pack.
  The snowpack state-wide is also about 20% above average for Feb 1.



GoSlowGoFar

		
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