

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 January 10th
Have not had a whole lot of snow on Mt Whitney so far this winter, but what has accumulated is not melting due to very cold temperatures, so pretty much the whole trail is covered in ice and snow. No recent trip reports of anyone going to the Summit. Winter conditions prevail and microspikes or ice ax are a must for any summit attempt.
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
Thursday 2/6 Snow showers before 2pm, then rain and snow showers between 2pm and 4pm, then rain showers after 4pm. High near 40. Windy, with a west southwest wind 29 to 34 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. |
Thursday Night 2/6 Snow showers, possibly mixed with rain. Low around 33. Very windy, with a southwest wind 43 to 47 mph, with gusts as high as 65 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. |
Friday 2/7 Snow showers, mainly before 10am. High near 39. Very windy, with a west southwest wind 41 to 46 mph decreasing to 33 to 38 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 65 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. |
Friday Night 2/7 A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. West northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. |
Saturday 2/8 Sunny, with a high near 38. West wind around 9 mph. |
Saturday Night 2/8 Mostly clear, with a low around 21. |
Sunday 2/9 Sunny, with a high near 36. |
Sunday Night 2/9 Mostly clear, with a low around 20. |
Monday 2/10 Sunny, with a high near 36. |
Monday Night 2/10 Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. |
Tuesday 2/11 A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. |
Tuesday Night 2/11 A slight chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 21. |
Wednesday 2/12 A chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 32. |
As mentioned above, most backpackers/climbers set up camp here before going for the summit.
Thursday 2/6 Snow showers, mainly after 1pm. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 22. Wind chill values as low as -8. Windy, with a west southwest wind 26 to 33 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible. |
Thursday Night 2/6 Snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. Steady temperature around 21. Wind chill values as low as -3. Very windy, with a southwest wind 40 to 45 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches possible. |
Friday 2/7 Snow showers, mainly before 4pm. High near 21. Wind chill values as low as -6. Very windy, with a west southwest wind 40 to 45 mph decreasing to 32 to 37 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 65 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. |
Friday Night 2/7 A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 8. Wind chill values as low as -9. West wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. |
Saturday 2/8 Sunny, with a high near 21. West wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. |
Saturday Night 2/8 Mostly clear, with a low around 5. |
Sunday 2/9 Sunny, with a high near 19. |
Sunday Night 2/9 Mostly clear, with a low around 4. |
Monday 2/10 Sunny, with a high near 19. |
Monday Night 2/10 Partly cloudy, with a low around 6. |
Tuesday 2/11 A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 15. Breezy. |
Tuesday Night 2/11 A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 5. Breezy. |
Wednesday 2/12 A chance of snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. Partly sunny, with a high near 14. Breezy. |
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WHITNEY'S SUMMIT AT 14,508 FT
Thursday 2/6 Snow showers, mainly after 1pm. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 16. Wind chill values as low as -16. Windy, with a west southwest wind 30 to 36 mph, with gusts as high as 49 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible. |
Thursday Night 2/6 Snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 9. Wind chill values as low as -10. Strong and damaging winds, with a southwest wind 44 to 49 mph, with gusts as high as 70 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible. |
Friday 2/7 Snow showers, mainly before 10am. Steady temperature around 12. Wind chill values as low as -14. Strong and damaging winds, with a west southwest wind 44 to 49 mph decreasing to 34 to 39 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 70 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. |
Friday Night 2/7 A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 2. Wind chill values as low as -16. West wind 15 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. |
Saturday 2/8 Sunny, with a high near 14. West wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. |
Saturday Night 2/8 Mostly clear, with a low around -1. |
Sunday 2/9 Sunny, with a high near 12. |
Sunday Night 2/9 Mostly clear, with a low around -2. |
Monday 2/10 Sunny, with a high near 12. |
Monday Night 2/10 Partly cloudy, with a low around 1. |
Tuesday 2/11 A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 8. Breezy. |
Tuesday Night 2/11 A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -1. Breezy. |
Wednesday 2/12 A chance of snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. Partly sunny, with a high near 8. Breezy. |
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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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