Sierra Winter Closures 2015-2016

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Sonora Pass (California SR 108) closed for the season on 11/17/15:

http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/Caltrans-closes-Sonora-Pass-for-winter

Sonora Pass on Highway 108 is closed for the winter, Caltrans announced Monday morning, marking the earliest seasonal closure in nearly a decade.

Caltrans said snow from recent storms made it necessary to close the road at Kennedy Meadows for the safety of motorists and road crews. The last time the pass – between Tuolumne and Mono counties – closed this early in the season was Nov. 16, 2006.

"Sonora Pass has some parts of it that, during this time of year, get very little to no sunlight,"  said Caltrans District 10 spokesman Rick Estrada. "When the ice forms on some parts of the road, it doesn't have a chance to dissipate."

The pass received 8 inches of snow from the recent storms, he said.

No decision had been made as of Monday in regard to a winter closure for Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4 between Lake Alpine and Silver Creek, according to Estrada.

Tioga Pass on Highway 120 and Glacier Point Road – both within Yosemite National Park – were temporarily closed as of Monday afternoon due to snow, according to the National Park Service.

Caltrans historical data shows that all three passes typically close for the winter within about one to two weeks of each other.

According to Caltrans records dating back to 1940, which are incomplete for the years between 1961 and 1975, the earliest Sonora Pass has closed for the winter was Oct. 10, 1947, while the latest was Jan. 21, 2012 – the first of four consecutive drought years.