Weather

As the photos above indicate, the town of Mount Shasta experiences a true winter, spring, summer and fall. The weather during those four seasons is somewhat moderated by the Pacific Ocean, but it always snows at the town's elevation in the winter and on occasion the temperature drops into the teens if not single digits. Usually, however, the snows melt quickly and winter lows are normally in the 25 to 35 degree range. In the summer, temperatures can reach 100 degrees, but that is rare. Summer highs are usually in the 75 to 85 degree range, and summer evenings are cool. As for the mountain; snow falls on the summit every month of the year, and even in the driest, warmest summers glaciers remain on the north slope and large snow packs are visible from every viewpoint.

With a summit elevation of 14,162 feet above sea level and a base 17 miles in diameter, Mount Shasta has a volume of more than 80 cubic miles, making it one of the most massive volcanoes in the world. It rises 10,000 feet above the land surrounding it -- one of the greatest elevation variations on earth. Because of it's massive size and dramatic difference in elevation from it's surroundings, Mount Shasta creates it's own weather phenomena. Striking examples of this are the unusual cloud formations that frequently appear atop the mountain or just to the side of the summit. Because of their lens shape they are called lenticular clouds. I frequently quip that you can tell if someone has lived in Mount Shasta by asking them if the know the meaning of lenticular. Not only does Mount Shasta create its own weather phenomena, it affects the weather of the surrounding region.

It's probably because of the distinct four season climate and the mountain's affect on the local weather that the people living near Mount Shasta are more interested in meteorology than say those living in the San Francisco Bay Area or in southern California where the climate is Mediterranean and the weather usually mild. This page, as you might guess, is designed to share that interest and if you are planning a visit, let you check the weather forecast and review the climate patterns.

my photo of one of Mount Shasta's giant lenticular clouds

my photo of a pancake stack of lenticular clouds (2/6/2000)

Click for Mount Shasta, California Forecast

The following are links to Web sites related to weather and earth science.