If you want to celebrate the Fourth of July this year with snow skiing and stay in California you’ll be able to do so at Mammoth Mountain just to the southeast of Yosemite National Park.
As of Wednesday, the Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort’s top elevation of 11,053 feet had 305 inches of snow.
And with yet another major storm arriving in Northern California Monday and Tuesday, there is little doubt that the resort will be able to keep their promise to extend the ski season to July 4 — at the least.
The resort — which is just over a five-hour drive from Turlock via Highway 120 when Tioga Pass is open — has the reputation of the California ski resort with the largest snowfall year in and year out.
It has allowed the resort to have a number of ski seasons that extended into July.
During the 2019-2020 season skiing was possible until July 7.
The longest ski season Mammoth has had in recent years was in 2017. That’s when skiing enthusiasts were still enjoying sufficient powder in early August.
The ski season at resorts on this side of the Sierra could stretch out to possibly Memorial Day.
Bear Valley on Highway 4 on Tuesday had 238 inches of snow at its highest elevation of 8,500 feet.
At some portions on the slope, the ski lifts were almost completely buried under 53 feet of snow on Tuesday.
At least two more weather systems are heading toward the Northern San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra.
The first is a weak one expected to arrive Friday and last through Sunday.
It hast the potential in the Turlock area to add 0.10 inches of rain with as much as 4 inches possible at Tioga Pass at 9,943 feet on Highway 120 at the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park.
The snow level could be as low as 5,000 feet.
The second storm arriving on the first day of spring on Monday and lasting through Tuesday may add as much as 48 inches of snow on the Sierra crest from Tioga Pass north to Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4 according to the National Weather Service.
The snow level could drop down to 3,500 feet.
In the Valley, between 1 and 2 inches of rain could fall in Turlock.
Yosemite National Park has been closed since March 1.
There are plans for a tentative partial reopening on Friday.
However, the Monday-Tuesday storm is expected to dump 5 inches of rain in Yosemite Valley.
