Temperature varies by elevation. Because these parks range from 1500 feet to 14,494 feet in elevation (457m to 4418m), conditions change drastically depending on where you are! Continue to the bottom of this page if you need links to weather forecasts.

THE FOOTHILLS (chaparral shrubs and oak woodlands), below ~4000':
These lower elevations are characterized by mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Precipitation usually occurs from January to mid-May; rain in the summer is rare. Average rainfall is about 26" (66 cm). During the winter, low-hanging clouds often drift in from the west, obscuring the countryside for several days at a time.

            *(Fahrenheit over Celsius)

THE MIDDLE ELEVATIONS (the conifer forest belt, including giant sequoia groves), ~4000' to 7000':
Summer in this forested area of the parks offers warm days and cool evenings. These elevations receive an average of 40-45" (102-114 cm) of precipitation annually. Much of this falls during the winter, resulting in a deep blanket of snow from December to May. Sub-zero temperatures are rare. In the summer, occasional afternoon thundershowers may occur.

In fall and winter, Lodgepole Campground is generally 10-15 degrees F (6-9°C) colder than the average middle-elevation temperature shown on the chart.

Summer temperatures in Cedar Grove are generally hotter than the average for the middle elevations, and cooler than the foothills. Mid-summer temperatures may reach the 90°s (35-40°C). Cedar Grove is closed in the winter due to frequent rockfalls on the road.

           *(Fahrenheit over Celsius)

Click National Weather Service: Parks of the Southern Sierra for a written current forecast for Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite national parks.
Or, click National Weather Service map, which gives you a map of south-central California. Click anywhere on that map to get a point forecast for a specific elevation. (For the Giant Forest area of Sequoia National Park, click the dot labelled "Sequoia National Park" on the right side of the map. The weather given for that point is usually a few degrees cooler than the weather in the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon).

For recordings of current park weather and road conditions, call 559-565-3341.

For the current view west from the Giant Forest sequoia grove, click Giant Forest Webcam.

For California road conditions, click Caltrans or call 1-800-427-7623.

Interested in the snowpack and water resources of the Sierra Nevada? Click here.