Golden State WeatherRegionsSierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada

A 400-mile granite wall, tilted west, that stores a third of California's water as snow.

Orographic snowfallThe April 1 snowpackRain-on-snow floods

The Sierra is a single tilted fault block: a long gentle western slope and an abrupt eastern escarpment that drops 10,000 feet into the Owens Valley. Pacific storms ride up the western slope and dump on it, which is why Blue Canyon at 5,300 feet averages 62 inches while Bishop, 90 miles away on the other side, gets five. That snowpack is not scenery — it is the state's largest reservoir, released slowly through spring and summer, and its April 1 depth is the single number California's water year turns on.

Elevation range: 1,000 ft → 14,505 ftHigh point: Mount Whitney
Relief: 13,505 ftTop to bottom, inside this region
Span: 212 × 317 miEast–west by north–south
Annual rainfall: 25–80″Driest to wettest ground here
Köppen types: DsbDscCsbET15 counties

Open climate division

Map of Sierra Nevada within California.

Where it is. The highlighted frame is this region's viewport; the others are its neighbours.

The four seasons here

NOT A GENERIC SEASON WITH THE PLACE NAME SWAPPED IN

Winter

Snow, in a handful of very large events rather than steadily. A few atmospheric rivers make or break the season.

Spring

Peak snowpack around April 1, then melt — which is when the rivers run hardest.

Summer

Dry, sunny and stable, with afternoon thunderstorms over the crest, especially in the south.

Autumn

The driest, clearest season, ending whenever the first real storm arrives — anywhere from October to December.

Places in this region

5 PLACES, LOWEST FIRST

NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 monthly normals, from the nearest publishing station at a comparable elevation. Full twelve-month tables are on each place's own page.
Place	Elevation	Jan high	Jan low	Jul high	Jul low	Annual precip	Snow
Yosemite Valley	3,966	48°	28°	89°	57°	36.5″	—
Blue Canyon	5,280	46°	34°	78°	63°	62.4″	—
Truckee	5,817	42°	16°	84°	41°	30.6″	207″
South Lake Tahoe	6,237	43°	18°	80°	42°	20.5″	—
Mammoth Lakes	7,880	41°	17°	78°	49°	23.7″	—

National Parks in this weather region

FIELD NOTES FROM THE PARK TRANSECT

YosemiteFoothill heat through a 3,000-ft valley to the alpine crest Kings CanyonHot western foothills to the high Sierra crest SequoiaKaweah foothills to 14,494-ft Mount Whitney

Terrain and gradients

WHAT THE ELEVATION ACTUALLY DOES

-2.8°FJuly lapse rate per 1,000 ft

-2.8°FJanuary lapse rate per 1,000 ft

-5.8″Rainfall per 1,000 ft

0.6×Highest ÷ lowest station precipitation

Ranges and passes

A PASS IS A WIND FEATURE FIRST

Sierra NevadaOne tilted fault block, 400 miles long. Gentle west slope, 10,000-foot east escarpment.RANGEDonner PassWhere I-80 crosses the crest, and where the Sierra's heaviest measured snowfall lands.PASSTioga PassHighest highway pass in California. Closed by snow roughly November to late May.PASS

Who forecasts it

OFFICIAL FORECASTS AND WARNINGS COME FROM HERE

NWS SacramentoSacramento Valley, northern Sierra, DeltaNWS STOWEATHER.GOV NWS HanfordSan Joaquin Valley and the southern SierraNWS HNXWEATHER.GOV NWS Reno (NV)Eastern Sierra and the northeast cornerNWS REVWEATHER.GOV NWS Las Vegas (NV)Eastern Mojave and Death ValleyNWS VEFWEATHER.GOV

Golden State Weather is not a source of watches or warnings. For those, go to the offices above.

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