Unusually frigid weather has brought a host of wintry lows across San Francisco this week, including snowfall in higher elevations elsewhere in the SF Bay Area.
Locals shouldering Mount Diablo woke up to a rare sight this morning: snow capping its peak.
The San Francisco Bay Area was inundated with surprisingly cold, wet, and windy weather yesterday, particularly in the evening, when temperatures dropped into the high-30s across much of the region. Parts of the North Bay and South Bay saw freezing temperatures; elevations above 2,500 feet reported snowfall and hail last night.
For Mount Diablo, the region’s highest summit, it meant the otherwise brown peak transformed into a winter wonderland with snow. And it’s not just a little bit of fluff, either.
Various reports estimate that the snow in some pockets on its peak could exceed six inches thick, with larger blankets of frozen temperature averaging about three inches in depth. Social media is alive with people commenting on the wintry conditions atop the peak, some noting it’s the closest their homes have been to snow in over a decade; the number of posts with excessive exclamation marks fawning over the snowy dreamscape.
Snow accumulation on Mount Diablo isn’t novel, mind you. Though a dusting of snow was observed in early March of last year; April of 2024 was the last time a significant amount of snow fell on the mountain, courtesy of an abnormally cold and wet spring storm; historically, it appears the peak experiences heavy snowfall every two or so years — an extrapolated trend that could fall to the wayside as the climate crisis worsens.
If you’re in view of the current snowfall atop Mount Diablo, take a minute to pause and absorb the viewshed. Snap a picture for safekeeping, because it (likely) won’t be around by the weekend.
Feature image: Courtesy of Threads via [at]macgirl3121
