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 22nd
Some snow covering the trail at higher elevations since the last storm and staying put due to cold temperatures creating increasing difficulty for 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
| Veterans Day 11/11 Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon. |
| Tuesday Night 11/11 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. West wind 6 to 8 mph. |
| Wednesday 11/12 Mostly sunny, with a high near 56. Southwest wind 9 to 13 mph. |
| Wednesday Night 11/12 Rain likely, mainly after 4am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 39. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 16 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. |
| Thursday 11/13 Rain, mainly before 1pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. High near 44. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 90%. |
| Thursday Night 11/13 Rain and snow showers, becoming all snow after 10pm. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 26. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. |
| Friday 11/14 Snow showers likely, mainly before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 35. |
| Friday Night 11/14 A chance of snow showers before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. |
| Saturday 11/15 Sunny, with a high near 44. |
| Saturday Night 11/15 Mostly clear, with a low around 33. |
| Sunday 11/16 Mostly sunny, with a high near 47. |
| Sunday Night 11/16 A slight chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. |
| Monday 11/17 A chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 41. |
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.
| Veterans Day 11/11 Partly sunny, with a high near 41. West wind 3 to 8 mph. |
| Tuesday Night 11/11 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind 6 to 11 mph. |
| Wednesday 11/12 Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 36. West southwest wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. |
| Wednesday Night 11/12 Snow likely, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 16 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. |
| Thursday 11/13 Snow, mainly before 1pm, then snow showers after 1pm. The snow could be heavy at times. Some thunder is also possible. High near 25. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible. |
| Thursday Night 11/13 Snow showers before 10pm, then snow after 10pm. The snow could be heavy at times. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 11. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible. |
| Friday 11/14 Snow showers likely, mainly before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 16. Breezy. |
| Friday Night 11/14 A chance of snow showers before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 11. |
| Saturday 11/15 Sunny, with a high near 26. |
| Saturday Night 11/15 Mostly clear, with a low around 18. |
| Sunday 11/16 Mostly sunny, with a high near 28. |
| Sunday Night 11/16 A slight chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 14. |
| Monday 11/17 A chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 21. |
THE FOLLOWING IS THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WHITNEY'S SUMMIT AT 14,508 FT
| eterans Day 11/11 Partly sunny, with a high near 33. West wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light. |
| Tuesday Night 11/11 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. West wind 8 to 13 mph. |
| Wednesday 11/12 Mostly sunny, with a high near 28. West southwest wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. |
| Wednesday Night 11/12 Snow likely, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 17 to 22 mph increasing to 24 to 29 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. |
| Thursday 11/13 Snow, mainly before 1pm, then snow showers after 1pm. The snow could be heavy at times. Some thunder is also possible. High near 18. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible. |
| Thursday Night 11/13 Snow showers before 10pm, then snow after 10pm. The snow could be heavy at times. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 5. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible. |
| Friday 11/14 Snow showers likely, mainly before 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 9. Breezy. |
| Friday Night 11/14 A chance of snow showers before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 4. |
| Saturday 11/15 Sunny, with a high near 18. |
| Saturday Night 11/15 Mostly clear, with a low around 12. |
| Sunday 11/16 Mostly sunny, with a high near 20. |
| Sunday Night 11/16 A slight chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 8. |
| Monday 11/17 A chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 13. |
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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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