The closure comes only a few weeks after the park partially reopened amid historic winter snow.
“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks,” the Weather Service wrote. “An extended period of very warm temperatures will cause rapid snow melt which is expected to cause flooding along waterways in Yosemite National Park.”
The Merced River at Pohono Bridge, which crosses the river near the western end of the Yosemite Valley, has aof exceeding its flood stage of 10 feet, although the Weather Service’s forecast of 11.5 feet on Sunday is well below the 1997 record of 23.43 feet. The river’s predicted crest is similar to the 12.1-foot crest that produced flooding in the spring of 1983, one of only four years on record that the statewide snowpack has surpassed 200 percent of normal.
The park said that Wawona, Mariposa Grove, Crane Flat area, Hetch Hetchy and western Yosemite Valley will remain open.
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