Despite a layer of snowfall that hit Yosemite over the last few days, and the possibility of a bit more to come through the weekend, winter hasn’t fully revealed itself in the national park yet.
”We are trending there,” according to Sean Macaday, a meteorologist with McClatchy’s California newsrooms. The park temporarily closed Tioga Road (Highway 120) on Wednesday evening, in advance of a snow forecast that has two or more inches of snow falling on Friday and only slightly less on Saturday.
This is part of a storm front that brought a half inch of rain into the Fresno area on Wednesday. And there is potential for another storm with more snow for Yosemite next weekend.
But, “most of it is set to melt very quickly,” Macaday says.
Which means things will be wet, but otherwise very pleasant for those wanting to visit the park while it’s still warmer out. Temperatures are expected at a 60-degree high at the bottom of the Valley on Saturday and closer to 70 on Sunday.
By the middle of next week, however, the overnight temperatures will be below freezing, Macaday says. The next few weeks will be the best (and possibly last) chance to visit the park before Tioga pass closes for the season, and “you don’t have to deal with chains or any of that,” he says.
“Sometime mid-November will be the flip.”
Tioga pass is the major route between the Eastern Sierra and the western side of the park. Due to its high elevation, it’s nearly inaccessible in winter. Its closure is often seen as a sign of shifting seasons.
Historically, the pass closes mid-November, though it has closed as early as mid-October and as late as January.
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Temperature in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada for Oct. 25, 2026. Sean Macaday McClatchy Some Dome Fire closures still in place
Several trails remain closed in an area of the park north of Wawona as a result of the Dome Fire, which was announced as fully contained this week after burning for more than a month. A map of the closure area is available online. The rest of the park is open and accessible.
The Fresno Bee
Joshua Tehee covers breaking news for The Fresno Bee, writing on a wide range of topics from police, politics and weather, to arts and entertainment in the Central Valley.