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.
Latest Trail Conditions as of October 17th
Snow has began to cover the trail at higher elevations since the last storm earlier this week increasing the difficulty in reaching the summit at this point.
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 Whitney Portal Hosts the Trail-head for Hikers, Backpackers and Climbers on Mt Whitney
| Tuesday 10/21 Sunny, with a high near 60. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm. |
| Tuesday Night 10/21 Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. West southwest wind around 6 mph. |
| Wednesday 10/22 A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming east in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%. |
| Wednesday Night 10/22 Partly cloudy, with a low around 39. Northwest wind 6 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. |
| Thursday 10/23 Sunny, with a high near 57. |
| Thursday Night 10/23 Mostly clear, with a low around 42. |
| Friday 10/24 Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. |
| Friday Night 10/24 Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. |
| Saturday 10/25 Partly sunny, with a high near 55. |
| Saturday Night 10/25 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. |
| Sunday 10/26 A slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. |
| Sunday Night 10/26 Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. |
| Monday 10/27 Sunny, with a high near 54. |
The Photo Above Shows Trail Camp on Mt Whitney at an elevation of 12,000 ft.
Most backpackers/climbers on Mt Whitney use this as a base camp for Summit day.
Plenty of great sites already established so it makes for easy setup.2,496 feet of elevation left to gain before
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WHITNEY Trail Camp AT 12,000 FTAs mentioned above, most backpackers/climbers set up camp here before going for the summit.
| Tuesday 10/21 Sunny, with a high near 42. South southwest wind 5 to 9 mph. |
| Tuesday Night 10/21 A 20 percent chance of snow showers after 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. West wind 5 to 8 mph. |
| Wednesday 10/22 A 50 percent chance of snow showers, mainly after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. West wind 5 to 9 mph becoming east in the afternoon. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. |
| Wednesday Night 10/22 Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. Northwest wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. |
| Thursday 10/23 Sunny, with a high near 37. |
| Thursday Night 10/23 Mostly clear, with a low around 27. |
| Friday 10/24 Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. |
| Friday Night 10/24 Partly cloudy, with a low around 26. |
| Saturday 10/25 Partly sunny, with a high near 35. |
| Saturday Night 10/25 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Breezy. |
| Sunday 10/26 A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. Breezy. |
| Sunday Night 10/26 Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. |
| Monday 10/27 Sunny, with a high near 34. |
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WHITNEY'S SUMMIT AT 14,508 FT
| Tuesday 10/21 Sunny, with a high near 34. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. |
| Tuesday Night 10/21 Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. West wind 5 to 9 mph. |
| Wednesday 10/22 A 50 percent chance of snow showers, mainly after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 22. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east in the afternoon. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. |
| Wednesday Night 10/22 Partly cloudy, with a low around 17. Northwest wind 6 to 16 mph. |
| Thursday 10/23 Sunny, with a high near 28. |
| Thursday Night 10/23 Mostly clear, with a low around 21. |
| Friday 10/24 Mostly sunny, with a high near 30. |
| Friday Night 10/24 Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. |
| Saturday 10/25 Partly sunny, with a high near 27. |
| Saturday Night 10/25 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19. Breezy. |
| Sunday 10/26 A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 25. Breezy. |
| Sunday Night 10/26 Partly cloudy, with a low around 17. |
| Monday 10/27 Sunny, with a high near 26. |
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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."
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