Tioga Pass Road and June Lake Loop, CA - October 18, 2021

 The Weather Service Wind Advisory proved to be right on the money.  Winds picked up all day, and by the time I returned to camp, winds were sustained at 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph.  My RV was rocking until the wee hours.  When the wind finally subsided, the rain hit but quickly turned to snow.  By morning, there was about two inches of snow on the ground at my campsite, but it was reported that higher elevations got 10 inches or more.  Needless to say, Tioga Pass was closed again, due to snow this time.  I drove as far as the barricade, about four miles, and got some good views of the mountains there.

I decided to return to June Lake Loop to see if the cold weather had affected the colors there.  Fortunately, I felt there was a definite improvement in the color and the fresh snow was a bonus, otherwise I would have been forced to go elsewhere.

That night the weather forecast indicated a major storm was coming onto the coast with heavy rain and snow expected.  It appeared that my opportunity was ending, so I made plans to leave the next day.  As it turns out, it was a good decision.  There were reports of up to eight feet of snow in the high country, while lower areas got flooding rains for several days.  I took the same road to Nevada that I had used once before to escape an approaching storm.