New Yosemite National Park weather station installed to provide key snowpack, runoff data
A new snow and weather station installed earlier this month in Yosemite National Park is expected to help provide key data about snowpack and runoff to scientists, water district officials and other key stakeholders in the Central Valley.
The station was installed in the high reaches of the Merced River watershed in the central Sierra Nevada, according to a news release by Merced Irrigation District, one of the main entities behind the project.
Data from the station is expected to greatly enhance forecasting by National Park Service, MID, the National Weather Service and the California Department of Water Resources, according to a news release.
The weather station sensors are able collect data about precipitation as well as air temperature, pressure, humidity, solar radiation, soil moisture, wind speed and wind direction. The station will also be able to measure snow surface temperature, depth and density.
MID will use the information to support its operations and management of Lake McClure and New Exchequer Dam, located in the foothills several miles west of Yosemite National Park.
MID provides irrigation deliveries from Lake McClure to approximately 2,200 growers, many of them are farming on fewer than 50 acres on small family farms in eastern Merced County, the release said.
The data from the new weather station will also help MID by informing future environmental restoration efforts and projects on the lower Merced River, improving water quality in eastern Merced County and enhancing operations of Lake McClure to ensure the best decisions are being made for water storage and flood control.
The new station is one of 11 such facilities in the park and was installed over the the span of two weeks during July, according to the release.
The station is the highest elevation snow station within the park, located 10,000 feet above sea level within the foot print of the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.
This story was originally published September 25, 2021 at 11:16 AM.
