Yosemite National Park closed indefinitely after record-breaking snowfall dropped ‘dangerous’ levels of snow across the park

Yosemite National Park has closed indefinitely due to ‘dangerous’ levels of snow after record-breaking snowfall fell across the park. The valley floor received up to 40 inches of snow, breaking a 54-year snowfall record, while the park’s higher elevations received up to 15 feet of snow.

Initially, the park planned to close through Thursday, but officials announced the park would remain closed due to the dangerous conditions without any specific date for reopening.

Photos show doors blocked from top to bottom with snow, roads vanished under drifts, and structures heavily laden with layers of accumulation.

Historic snowfalls up to seven feet fell across California, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency. Yosemite officials said it was the most snow any of them had ever seen at the park in their lifetimes.

Storms hit the park on both Monday and Wednesday, leading to accumulation that broke records by several inches. The previous record for snow on the valley floor was set in February 1969 when there was 36 inches of accumulation.

A spokesperson for Yosemite, Scott Gediman, said that it was the most snow he and his colleagues had ever seen. He added that the park’s ski slopes had not seen significant snow in the past five years but now the snowpack was at the level of the chairlifts and had reached the second floor of the sky lodge. Forecasts suggest up to six feet of more accumulation could fall, and winds could gust up to 75 miles per hour this week.

Officials are focusing their efforts on clearing roads and removing snow from the tops of structures that could be damaged by the significant weight.

They are also trying to restore power to parts of the park. No injuries from the storm were reported. Gediman said it was difficult to determine which storm dropped more snow as this week’s snowfall occurred so shortly after a previous storm.

He said that they were taking it one day at a time and were doing their best to remove the snow and get the park ready for visitors in a safe manner. He was unable to provide an estimate for when the park would reopen.


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