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Category: Grand Canyon National Park

Holiday weekend Inversion at Grand Canyon

Inversion North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaMemorial Day weekend was not the typical BBQ under the sun sort of holiday with inversion at Grand Canyon.  Rain, cold and snow may have dampened a few hikers but the intermittent inversions put on a Grand show.  You just had to have patience.

Inversion North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaSo what is a cloud inversion?  When cold air is trapped in the canyon topped by a layer of warm air condensation occurs and fog forms.

Visitors in the fog North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaFar person not in a safe place

Visitors constantly ask, when will it lift?  I don’t predict the weather.  But I tell them to find a place at the rim where they are safe and comfortable and have patience.  The clouds will typically drift in and out revealing windows of view and sometimes the whole canyon.

Inversion North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaActually inversions seem to happen more often than I remember since 2008 when I began working at the canyon.  I’ve seen them occur maybe two or three times a season during summer monsoons.  Since we’ve opened May 15th partial inversions have happened frequently.

Inversion North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaThis past winter the canyon experienced two total inversions in December (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF8LUy1LJjs) and January (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBm7jgNX3hQ) when clouds entirely filled the canyon with only the tallest peaks sticking up out of a sea of fog.  According to the National Weather Service total cloud inversions are a rare event that typically happen just once every several years.  So what’s normal about weather?

Inversion North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaI should have taken video as the rise and swirl changed so rapidly.  But I was working.  I’d take a photo, turn to talk to a visitor and in seconds the entire scene would change.  If I carried the tripod this would have made for awesome time lapse.

Clouds in canyon Cape Royal North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaIt reminds me of Merlin’s dragon breath.  Temples of stone appear as islands in the sea.

Clouds in Transept Canyon from RV North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaView from RV

Due to a low winter snow pack we really need all this moisture and hopefully it will reduce the risk of forest fire this year.

View from Vista Encantada North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAfter the holiday weekend ended the weather, so far, returned to spring.  I spent Tuesday on the Walhalla Plateau under patches of blue sky.

Have you ever seen the phenomenon of cloud inversion?  Come visit Grand Canyon National Park during summer monsoon for a possible chance.  But please have patience.

Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim 10 Comments

My Friday on Tuesday at Grand Canyon

It’s my Friday even though it’s actually Tuesday.  Scheduled to work from 1-9:30pm with time in the Visitor Center and the 8pm evening program.  I talk about how the Ancestral Puebloans lived at Grand Canyon.  Nice to sleep in with no alarm clock and enjoy the slow unfolding of the day.

Mule deer from RV North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAfter yesterday’s stormy sky brought intermittent rain and snow, waking to a blue sky was a delight, even if a bit cold at about 33F.  As the morning progressed lines of fluffy clouds slide over the canyon.

Mule deer from RV North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaMule deer came to browse along the canyon’s rim.  I so love the view from my RV Imax windows.  Well except for the weather station photo bomb.

Late light in canyon North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Late light on temples North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaI spent a busy afternoon in the Visitor Center.  Then after dinner made it back to the Lodge in time for a late light show.

Sunset & Lodge North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaPlus a bit of sunset.

With the next two days off I’m going to camp Wednesday night at the Snake Gulch trailhead so I can get an early start hiking to some petroglyphs and pictographs.  This lower elevation area gets too hot in the summer to explore so hoping the cooler spring temperatures will be more conducive to hiking.

Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim 18 Comments

Snow on opening day at the North Rim

Welcome to Grand Canyon where we have snow on opening day at the North Rim on May 15th, 2015.  Last year it was in the 90s.

Storm clouds over canyon from RV North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaThursday, the day before opening, it was bitter cold with rain, snow, hail and graupel.  All our staff had the day off and  I stayed inside all day.  After a brief morning view the canyon was nonexistent as fog and clouds filled the great abyss.

Foggy canyon at Lodge North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaWoke up Friday to a blanket of white but that didn’t slow down our visitors much.  They came in droves wondering when and if they’d see the canyon.  Rangers just hate the “When will it stop?” question.  But really, most everyone was just happy to be at Grand Canyon.

Canyon & cloud North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaIf they have patience, and watch the canyon fog it will drift in and out providing window views that provide the most spectacular show.

I’m sure there were a few cancellations at the Lodge and campground especially.  One woman camping in a tent asked if there is a shelter to block the wind so she could cook dinner.  Sadly there is not.  People arrive with shorts and T-shirts only expecting all of Arizona a desert.  I’ll bet a lot of sweatshirts and jackets were sold.

Opening day is really big for rim to rim hikers.  I spoke to many who said it rained on them the last seven miles up from Cottonwood camp and the trail was a muddy mess.

I gave my first Condor talk of the season in the afternoon, quickly scanning my notes beforehand.  After 6 months gone I always feel like I’ve forgotten everything.  Although I had to check for one date, when I opened my mouth it just all fell out.

Clouds over Widforss Plateau from RV North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaSaturday started off with a thick sky.

Frosty trees North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaWhen I left for work in the morning the trees wore a frosty coat.  But the sun worked hard to break through and it was drippy all day.

Brahma & Zoroaster temples surrounded by clouds North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAt the lodge clouds drifted in and out of the canyon.

Canyon from Lodge North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaBy afternoon the view was clear with fantastic clouds sliding over the canyon and the snow was gone except for the distant peaks.

Sunset from RV North Rim Grand Canyon National Park ArizonaAnd the sunset was divine, although a little cluttered in the foreground which is part of my Imax window’s view.  All in all, a magical start to the 2015 season with snow on opening day at the North Rim Grand Canyon.

Arizona, Grand Canyon National Park North Rim , 24 Comments

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