Yosemite National Park is closed INDEFINITELY as it breaks 54-year snowfall record

Yosemite National Park closed indefinitely this week after a record snowfall dropped “dangerous” levels of snow across the park.

Up to 40 inches of snow fell on the valley floor, breaking a 54-year snowfall record, while up to 15 feet of snow buried the mountainsides at the park’s higher elevations.

When winter storms were forecast last weekend, the park initially said it would close until Thursday. But after the massive buildup the storms finally brought, officials announced the park would close due to dangerous conditions without saying when it might reopen.

Yosemite officials said it was the most snow they had ever seen in the park, photos showing gates blocked from top to bottom with snow, roads disappearing under snowdrifts and structures heavily laden with layers of buildup.

Beyond the national park, record snowfalls of up to seven feet fell in California, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency to help citizens trapped in their homes behind walls of snow.

Tents in Yosemite buried under feet of snow after massive storms this week

Snowfall in Yosemite broke a more than half-century record for the most accumulation in one day in the park.

Storms battered the park on both Monday and Wednesday, causing a buildup that broke records by several inches.

The previous record for valley bottom snowfall was set in February 1969 when there was an accumulation of 36 inches.

Park officials said this week’s snowfall made travel within the park very dangerous in most places and impossible in others.

A Yosemite spokesman and park ranger for 27 years, Scott Gediman, said it was the most snow he and his colleagues had ever seen.

“In all my years here, this is the most snow I’ve ever seen at one time,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

“This is the most any of us has ever seen,” he added.

Forecasts suggest up to six feet of additional accumulation could drop, and winds could gust up to 75 miles per hour this week.

A frozen tunnel in Yosemite National Park after last week’s snow storms

Roads closed in Yosemite National Park due to debris from last week’s storms

The Yosemite Valley Chapel in Yosemite Park in California covered in snow

In addition to this week’s storms, Yosemite was affected by a snow-dropping storm last Friday and Saturday.

Gediman told the LA Times that it was difficult to determine which storm fell more, as this week’s fell shortly after.

“There’s a lot of snow everywhere,” Gediman said.

He noted that the park’s ski slopes had not seen significant snow in the past five years, but now, within a week, the snowpack was level with the chairlifts and had reached the second floor of the sky lodge.

Officials are focusing their efforts on clearing roads and removing snow from the tops of structures that could be damaged by the significant weight.

They are also trying to restore power to parts of the park. No injuries were reported from the storm.

“What we’re doing is literally taking it one day at a time,” Gediman told the LA Times. “We’re just digging up and doing the best we can to clear the snow and get the park ready for visitors safely.”

He said he could not give an estimate for when the park would reopen.

A stream in Yosemite National Park covered in snow after last week’s snow storms

Yosemite National Park Village store covered in snow during storms last week

A man clears snow from a patio in Yosemite National Park after last week’s snow storms.