Campsites in California’s Yosemite National Park have been closed as snowpack continues to melt, causing flooding.
The park said in a statement posted to Facebook that the Lower and North Pines Campgrounds and Housekeeping Camp will close on May 15, but additional closures are possible.
Many winter storms pounded California from December through early March, meaning a higher than average snowpack accumulated in the surrounding mountains.
Now, as weather continues to warm, the snowpack is melting. This is causing severe flooding across Yosemite, as the Merced River sees extremely high flows.
Mario Tama / Staff/Getty
At the start of April, snowpack was measured at 240 percent of average on the Tioga Road. The park said this was “the highest ever recorded for this area.”
“As of May 1, the park had more than double the average amount of snow for this time of year,” the park said in a statement. “The combination of extended hot weather and abundant snow means the Merced River may remain above flood stage for some time.”
Commenting on the Facebook post, one person said they had just camped at North Pines, but had noticed the Merced River “starting to overflow the banks.”
They said “water was creeping” into the campsite.
Another Facebook user who had recently visited the park said there were “more and more waterfalls” at the park than they had ever seen before.
Yosemite National Park has been bracing for this flooding since the end of April, as the Merced River water levels began to rise.
Recent pictures of Yosemite show torrents of water cascading down the waterfalls.
It was not that long ago that Yosemite National Park was suffering the effects of a third consecutive year of drought.
California has been in a drought for years, meaning that the above average snowpack was welcome as it replenished many of the state’s important reservoirs.
The hope among experts was that the snowpack would melt gradually throughout the spring months, and slowly feed into the rivers and reservoirs.
However with the warm weather, it is melting quickly, meaning there is too much water for Yosemite’s rivers to handle.
Severe flooding has also occurred in other areas of the state. This is also being seen at Tulare Lake, a normally dry lake in the southern San Joaquin Valley. The lake has spilled over due to the melting snowpack, which has caused devastation to the surrounding agricultural lands.
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