Pacific Crest Trail Snow Conditions - Feb 25, 2019

Below you will find detailed and current snow conditions for the entire Pacific Crest Trail. Types of information include current/average snow amount for date, current snow coverage, minimum/average/maximum amount for April 1st and an elevation profile so you can contrast snow conditions with elevation. Snow condtions are presented in graph and tabular format.

Snow pack vs trail snow. Snow pack aggregates values from relative few physical sensors/hand measurements located over an entire mountain range, then displays that daily aggregate over time. This is not ideal for hikers as hikers are concerned with a very specific area (the trail). Trail snow takes a single modeled value at thousands of specific locations along the trail on the current date. This is ideal for hikers as they can see snow conditions on or near the trail uninfluenced by conditions miles away at wildly different elevations. This stark example shows snow pack vs trail snow at the most critical time of the year.

2/25/2019 - Kennedy Mdw to Echo Lake - 394.7 miles - Well above average, %169

Covered by snow: 100.0%, No snow: 0.0%, Above average: 96.6%, Below average: 0.3%, About average: 3.2%,

(Average coverage for June 1st is 41%, June 16th is 22%)

Section detail: Kennedy Meadows to Echo Lake.

2/25/2019 - JMT, Crabtree to Tuolumne - 181.8 miles - Well above average, %173

Covered by snow: 100.0%, No snow: 0.0%, Above average: 96.7%, Below average: 0.0%, About average: 3.3%,

Here are some temporal graphs using modeled snow data, NOT snow pack. PCT SWE from Kennedy Meadow to Echo Lake, JMT SWE from Crabtree Mdw to Tuolumne Mdw, PCT Coverage from Kennedy Meadow to Echo Lake, JMT Coverage from Crabtree Meadow to Tuolumne Meadow

Entering the sierra early may or may not be a good idea. It depends on you and your skills. Here are things to consider before entering the sierra early.

Data originates from SNODAS modeled data and NOHRSC/NSIDC.

NEW! Check out the shiny, new Interactive Snow Graph



Click image for larger version or this Large Full Detail Image - Chart updates every 3 or 4 days from Nov 1 to Jul 28.

Sierra Entry Indicator - The SEI is to help you determine what snow conditons are like north of Kennedy Meadow. This looks at hundreds of locations between Kennedy Meadow and Reds Meadow (210 miles) and gets the percent of average snow conditions. The SEI updates from Nov 1 to Apr 1. Last Update: Feb 25, 2019. Trail snow, not snow pack, is %134 of average. (for entertainment purposes only)

April 1st historical links: 2004 :: 2005 :: 2006 :: 2007 :: 2008 :: 2009 :: 2010 :: 2011 :: 2012 :: 2013 :: 2014 :: 2015 :: 2016 :: 2017 :: 2018

Google Trail Map with Snow Overlays: Snow Water Equivalent :: Snow Depth :: Snow Coverage :: 24 Hour Snow Precip :: 24 Hour Non-Snow Precip :: 24 Hour Snow Melt :: 24 Hour Avg Snow Pack Temp :: Snow Density :: 24 Hour SWE Change :: 24 Hour Snow Surface Sublimation :: 24 Hour Blowing Snow Surface Sublimation

For further information visit the Pacific Crest Trail Data Book. You may also want to view the PCT Google Map. View our printed Pacific Crest Trail Maps, books and/or PDF

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