

Weather on Mt Whitney varies greatly during the year and can certainly be unpredictable at times. Temperatures at the lower elevations are generally warm. At higher elevations in the night, even in the summer months temperatures can fall below freezing. Typical winter temperatures above 9,500 feet range from -14 degrees F to 12 degrees at night and from 15 - 50 degrees F during the day.
Ninety five percent of total precipitation (which includes both rain and snow) falls between the months of October and May, with more than half falling in January, February, and March. The frequency of summer showers increase at higher elevations and correspondingly there are more cloudy days. But even though these thundershowers are of short duration they are still a danger to the hiker/climber on the summit or high ridges on Mt Whitney and other Sierra Peaks. That being said, if you detect a thunderstorm developing, vacate the summit and high ridges at once. The
first recorded fatality on Mt Whitney was due to lightning.
Snow is one of the most spectacular features in the Sierra Nevada (the second snowiest mountain range on the continent) but due to the fact that Mt Whitney resides in the southern portion of the Sierra Nevada, it does not get nearly the amount of snow pack that the Palisade or Mammoth Lakes region do.
Quick summary of Mt Whitney weather:
A chance of rain/snow showers today then mostly sunny and clear for the rest of the week and into next on Mt Whitney.
Latest Trail Conditions as of September 8th
Pretty clear with a few water crossings up to Trail Camp at12,000 feet. Next, the 99 switchbacks going up to Trail Crest, mostly melted out, except for a bit of an icy patch in the cables section, any other snow patches up the switchbacks have a well worn boot path through them. On the backside of Whitney, things will go fine until near the end, where a bit of scrambling up the rock will enable you to avoid a lingering snow and ice field just before the Summit.
MT WHITNEY AERIAL VIEW - We are proud to have the following link added to our Mt Whitney lineup. It is a mixed slide-show showing many key features of Mt Whitney and the surrounding areas from both the ground and the air. So click on the following link, turn up the music, use the biggest monitor you got in full screen video mode, and enjoy high resolution photos of Mt Whitney.
Mt Whitney Aerial Slide-show also check out our Mt Whitney Aerial Flight Video (a moving view completely around Mt Whitney and its surrounding neighbors).
TRAIL GUIDE - for an in-depth write up on hiking from the Trailhead at Whitney Portal to the Summit, please check out our page on the Mt Whitney Trail.
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE WHITNEY PORTAL AREA AT 8,300 FT
The Whitney Portal Hosts the Trail-head for Hikers, Backpackers and Climbers on Mt Whitney
Saturday Night 9/23 Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Light and variable wind becoming west southwest 10 to 15 mph after midnight. |
Sunday 9/24 Sunny, with a high near 66. West southwest wind 6 to 10 mph becoming east southeast in the afternoon. |
Sunday Night 9/24 Mostly clear, with a low around 46. West southwest wind 6 to 11 mph. |
Monday 9/25 Sunny, with a high near 66. West wind 6 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the morning. |
Monday Night 9/25 Mostly clear, with a low around 47. West wind 8 to 14 mph. |
Tuesday 9/26 Sunny, with a high near 67. |
Tuesday Night 9/26 Mostly clear, with a low around 49. |
Wednesday 9/27 Sunny, with a high near 68. |
Wednesday Night 9/27 Mostly clear, with a low around 49. |
Thursday 9/28 Sunny, with a high near 66. |
Thursday Night 9/28 Mostly clear, with a low around 45. |
Friday 9/29 Sunny, with a high near 62. |
Friday Night 9/29 Mostly clear, with a low around 42. |
Saturday 9/30 Sunny, with a high near 58. |
As mentioned above, most backpackers/climbers set up camp here before going for the summit.
Saturday Night 9/23 Mostly clear, with a low around 30. West southwest wind 10 to 16 mph. |
Sunday 9/24 Sunny, with a high near 46. South southwest wind 16 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. |
Sunday Night 9/24 Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Southwest wind 9 to 14 mph. |
Monday 9/25 Sunny, with a high near 44. West wind 8 to 13 mph becoming south southeast in the morning. |
Monday Night 9/25 Mostly clear, with a low around 30. West wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. |
Tuesday 9/26 Sunny, with a high near 46. |
Tuesday Night 9/26 Mostly clear, with a low around 32. |
Wednesday 9/27 Sunny, with a high near 48. |
Wednesday Night 9/27 Mostly clear, with a low around 32. |
Thursday 9/28 Sunny, with a high near 46. |
Thursday Night 9/28 Mostly clear, with a low around 29. |
Friday 9/29 Sunny, with a high near 41. |
Friday Night 9/29 Mostly clear, with a low around 26. |
Saturday 9/30 Sunny, with a high near 38. |
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WHITNEY'S SUMMIT AT 14,508 FT
Saturday Night 9/23 Mostly clear, with a low around 24. West southwest wind 10 to 18 mph. |
Sunday 9/24 Sunny, with a high near 36. South southwest wind 14 to 18 mph. |
Sunday Night 9/24 Mostly clear, with a low around 23. Southwest wind 9 to 14 mph. |
Monday 9/25 Sunny, with a high near 35. West wind 9 to 13 mph becoming southeast in the morning. |
Monday Night 9/25 Mostly clear, with a low around 24. West wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. |
Tuesday 9/26 Sunny, with a high near 37. |
Tuesday Night 9/26 Mostly clear, with a low around 25. |
Wednesday 9/27 Sunny, with a high near 38. |
Wednesday Night 9/27 Mostly clear, with a low around 25. |
Thursday 9/28 Sunny, with a high near 36. |
Thursday Night 9/28 Mostly clear, with a low around 22. |
Friday 9/29 Sunny, with a high near 32. |
Friday Night 9/29 Mostly clear, with a low around 19. |
Saturday 9/30 Sunny, with a high near 28. |
Email Sign Up
Join the Adventure! Sign up here for Timberline Trails Monthly Newsletter |

Join us on Instagram
Matt 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

©2006-2021 TimberlineTrails. All Rights Reserved.