Trip Reports, News & Mountain Conditions for the Sierra Nevada » Weather & Snow Reports

Mountain snow and ice conditions for the Sierra Nevada 2nd Feb 2012

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:04:37 +0000

The following mountain condition report was issued by the Junta de Andalucia in their Safety Campaign for the Sierra National Park mountains this winter. Information at February 2, 2012.

All areas

Variable states. Hard ice, neve, wind blown, powder. Some charged slopes. Even lower elevations will have some snow/ice.

Hoya de la Mora – Veleta

Mid-winter Refugio de Caballo

Access Road A-395 cleared.
Snow level: first snows at approx. 1000m.
Carihuela bivouac: in good conditions.

Poqueira

Snow level: 1500m, depending slope orientation.
Recommended access to Poqueira Refuge: Central Electric Cebadilla
Hoya del Portillo – You will meet snow 3km from Capileira
Refugio Caldera from Refugio Poqueira: Rio Mulhacén
Carihuela bivouac: in good conditions.

Caballo

Access: From Niguelas to Fuentefría in bad condition.
Snow level: approx. 1500m

Genil

Snow level: approx. 1000m. Snow and ice on Vereda de Estrella

Postero Alto – Alhorí

Snow level: approx. 1000m
Difficult access to the Postero Alto Refugio. 4WD and chains essential.

Ragua

GR-337 access road and Puerto de la Ragua (2000m.) without snow
Snow level: approx 1000m (North) and 1800m (South)

WARNING: – Essential for ice axe and crampons

RECOMMENDATIONS:

- Be sure to check the weather forecast before starting any activity
- Do not undertake any activity unless you have the knowledge and the right equipment.
- Try to take the phone battery fully charged
- In adverse conditions dont continue your activity.
- Avoid going out alone, if you do the let people know route and expected time of return

PHONE NUMBERS AND ADDRESSES

- Central Emergency: 112
- Sierra Nevada weather forecasts www.aemet.es www.meteoexploration.com eltiempo.es
- Refugio Poqueira: 958343349/958064111/659554224 www.refugiopoqueira.com
- Refugio Postero Height: 616506083/958066110 www.refugioposteroalto.es
- Dornajo Visitor Centre: 958340625
- Laujar Visitor Centre: 950513548
- Pampaneira Information: 958763127
- Capileira Information: 958763090/686414576

Climbing the Cerro de Caballo and want to know what the weather will be like?

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:48:09 +0000

If you intend to climb the Cerro de Caballo which lies just above the Alpujarras spa town of Lanjaron in the Sierra Nevada, you may be interested in the following weather forecasting model.

Wind speed, Wind gusts, Wind direction, Wind chill (°C), Temperature (°C), Cloud cover (%), Pressure (hPa) and expected Precipitation (mm/3h) are all interesting and useful indicators if you are heading for the high Sierras.

More info, maps, details

Spindrift blows across the Cerro de Caballo

Alpujarras weather trends in 2011 from our Lanjaron meteo station

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:54:06 +0000

At the end of the year it is always interesting to look at the extremes, averages and trends in the years weather. Our weather station in Lanjaron, Alpujarras has provided the following information for 2011 (2010 figures in brackets).

Temperatures – nothing too different on the maximums and minimums, but interesting to note that 2011 was far more extreme overall than in 2010. The number of times the temperatures exceeded 30 or were less than 10 were much more than in 2010.

Rainfall much higher in 2010, but that was an exceptional year.

View all the Alpujarras climate data since 2006

Temperatures

Max High 36.3 (2010 38.2)
Min Low 0.3 (2010 0.0)
Average temp 15.8 (2010 16.0)
Average max 27.6 (2010 26.7)
Average min 7.1 (2010 7.1)
Max temperature over 30 degrees on – 48 days (2010 – 26 days)
Min temperature under 10 degrees on – 154 days (2010 – 114 days)

Rainfall

Total precipitation 442mm (2010 720mm)
Days when precipitation over 2.5mm – 37 days (2010 – 42 days)

Wind

Maximum gust 61 km/hr (2010 61 km/hr)
Average maximum gust throughout the year 22.6 km/hr (2010 – 26.3 km/hr)
Average speed 2.4 km/hr (2010 3.2 km/hr)
Average wind direction – 265

Click to load Climate Data 2011 in larger window

Mountain Condition Report for the Sierra Nevada over the new year period

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:23:08 +0000

The following mountain condition report was issued by the Junta de Andalucia in their Safety Campaign for the Sierra National Park mountains this winter. Information at December 29, 2011.

Original information in Spanish provided by Mammut Sierra Nevada

All areas

Ice approaching Veleta

Ice, snow, ice, snow and snow crust vented.
Thin snow in lower elevations.
Hoya de la Mora – Veleta
Access Road A-395 cleared.
Snow level: approx. 2300-2600m.
Ice from the Hoya de la Mora
Carihuela bivouac: in good conditions.

Poqueira

Snow level: 2300-2800m, depending slope orientation.
Recommended access to Poqueira Refuge: Central Electric Cebadilla or route of the acequias Access recommended Refugio Caldera from Refugio Poqueira: Rio Mulhacén.
Carihuela bivouac: in good conditions.

Caballo

Access: From Niguelas to Fuentefría in good condition, since there is no ice.
Snow level: approx. 2300-2800m

Genil

Two trees down on the Verada de Estrellas and several landslides on some points of the track and also access to the Cortijo del Hornillo.
Snow from the Majada del Palo and in the Valdecasillas accumulated in some areas.
Snow level: approx. 2300-2600m

Postero Alto – Alhorí

Snow level: approx. 2300-2600m
Snow-free access to the Postero Alto Refugio

Ragua

GR-337 access road and Puerto de la Ragua (2000m.) without snow
Snow level: approx 2300 to 2600m

WARNING: – Essential for ice axe and crampons

RECOMMENDATIONS:

PHONE NUMBERS AND ADDRESSES

Access and snow conditions from from the Poqueira hut

admin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:59:49 +0000

Latest report from the guardians at the hut..
You can see more and photos at http://campobasefm.com/refugiossn/poqueira/

First snows on the Sierra Nevada 23rd Oct

Poqueira Wednesday October 26 photos of the access, the environment and the area of peaks after these first snow of the season. All this can change quickly, as more snow is expected at high levels throughout the day Thursday.

Access to the refuge both from Trevélez Capileira are clear of snow. You can continue to access on foot through the Hoya del Portillo, but keep in mind that from now on it can come windy and cold and this can give us a hard time. Therefore, the path between the acequias and access from the Cebadilla can be a good option for these coming days.

If we decide to approach the hut from by the Carihuela we must bear in mind that most of the tour is going to develop into winter conditions, and therefore we do not recommend anyone do it without crampons and ice axe in the backpack.

The snow today, Wednesday October 26, is between 2800 and 2900 meters. The thickness of snow in this area are between 5 and 40 cm, and usually we will find very icy snow all morning and crusted snow areas in higher elevations.

Under these conditions completely discourage access to the mountain area without crampons and ice axe. It is time to look in the closet and get you equipment dusted.

Pay attention to the above and enjoy the winter weather, which surely is coming.

Soon we will have at your disposal our new site www.refugiopoqueira.com , we hope that will be useful.

Greetings.
Rafael Quintero
Ansi Moslero
Poqueira Refuge
958343349
958064111
659554224

Alpujarras Weather Records September 2011

admin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:22:14 +0000

A summary of the weather high and lows, ups and downs, for September 2011 from the Alpujarras Weather Station based in Lanjaron is shown below.

Highlights – the highest temperature was 32.6 (lowest 11.7 ). A total of 1.8mm of rain fell over 2 days. The highest wind gust was 42.5kmh.

Previous year - the highest temperature was 28.7 (lowest 11.8 ). A total of 30.4mm of rain fell. The highest wind gust was 53.6kmh.

Full summaries are shown below or visit the full statistical weather data.

Links to the station which is live on the internet during daylight hours can be found below.
Visit the Lanjaron weather station live datafeed - live interactive weather station data.
View past weather records and climate data since 2005 – useful for comparison purposes
Sierra Nevada Mountain Weather Forecasts - essential reading for mountain goers!

Click image below for a larger version

Alpujarras-weather-records-sept2011

Alpujarras Weather Station Records for August 2011

admin — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:20:12 +0000

A summary of the highs and lows for August 2011 from our weather station set in Lanjaron, Alpujarras, Andalucia. Links to the station which is live on the internet during daylight hours can be found below.

Records for the month of August 2011

Alpujarra Weather Station August 2011

You may also be interested in:
Visit the Lanjaron weather station live datafeed
View past weather records
Sierra Nevada Mountain Weather Forecasts

Alpujarras Weather Station records for July 2011

admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:46:05 +0000

A summary of the highs and lows for July 2011 from our weather station set in Lanjaron, Alpujarras, Andalucia. Links to the station which is live on the internet during daylight hours can be found below.

Records for the month of July 2011

alpujarras-weather-records-july-2011

You may also be interested in:
Visit the Lanjaron weather station live datafeed
View past weather records
Sierra Nevada Mountain Weather Forecasts

Alpujarras monthly weather records since 2005

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:07:02 +0000

If you are a statistic freak like me, live in southern Spain and are constantly talking to friends about the ins and outs of the weather then this post may be for you. Put the myths to bed! When somebody says “It’s not as hot as it was last year!” or “It didn’t rain as much last year!”, then you now have the answer at your fingertips.

Below are the facts as recorded by our monthly records from our weather station at Lanjaron in the Alpujarras, Andalucia. The lowest temperature each month, the highest temperature each month, the average low and high and the number of days and amount of rain.

Visit the Live Weather Station
The Monthly Weather Records website

Alpujarras Weather Station records for June 2011

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:15:11 +0000

A summary of the highs and lows for June 2011 from our weather station set in Lanjaron, Alpujarras, Andalucia. Links to the station which is live on the internet during daylight hours can be found below.

Records for the month of June 2011

alpujarra-weather-station-june-2011

You may also be interested in:
Visit the Lanjaron weather station live datafeed
View past weather records
Sierra Nevada Mountain Weather Forecasts