SNOW MAY BLOW, BUT CAMPS A GO : WARMING TREND COMES JUST IN TIME.

Byline: Brett Pauly Daily News Outdoors Editor

While the region was pelted over the past week by a series of storms that dumped 31 inches atop Mammoth Mountain and 9 inches, in one day, at Bridgeport, campers targeting rainbows and browns for the Eastern Sierra trout opener shouldn't fret.

``The roads are clear, the sun is out and the snow is melting,'' said Kent Monroe, manager of the Mono Village Boat House and Marina at Upper Twin Lake southwest of Bridgeport, earlier this week.

``A definite warming trend'' has moved into the Owens Valley and Eastern Sierra slopes to the north and west, according to the National Weather Service in Las Vegas.

The extended forecast through Friday calls for mostly clear weather and low breezes in the Owens Valley, with high temperatures in the 70s and lows in the 30s; higher elevations will see a similar pattern, with highs in the 60s and lows in the mid-20s.

The last storm of the recent system blew through Monday, and the building of high pressure since is bringing back more seasonal temperature, NWS forecasters report.

The inclement weather of the past week coated the Twin Lakes area with 2 inches of snow and patches of more than a foot, but Mono Village Resort proprietors expect to open for camping as planned Monday. While overnight lows dipped to a freezing 3 degrees Monday in Bridgeport, daytime highs of 52 had melted all remaining snow. Resort operators at June and Convict lakes reported 2 inches of snow on the ground but were unconcerned that any would stick for more than a couple of days. Camp sites around Crowley Lake remain snow-free.

``The great thing about this time of year is that if it snows, it melts really fast,'' said JoBeth Brown, a spokeswoman for the Mammoth Ranger Station in the town of Mammoth Lakes, where 4.25 inches of new snow was reported through Sunday.

Still, it's best to heed the old Eastern Sierra adage, ``If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes'' . . . it often gets worse.

Unless late-season snow interferes with plans, most campgrounds in the Inyo and Humboldt-Toiyabe national forests below an elevation of 8,500 feet that are scheduled to be open before the April 24 trout opener will be operating, according to U.S. Forest Service officials. Traditionally, the big exception is the campgrounds in the Mammoth Lakes Basin; it's no different this year, as sites there won't open until Memorial Day weekend or later.

Questions regarding specific U.S. Forest Service campgrounds can be directed to the five ranger stations in the region - Mount Whitney (in Lone Pine), [phone]; White Mountain (Bishop), [phone]; Mammoth, [phone]; Lee Vining, [phone]; and Bridgeport, [phone].

Note to skiers: With this week's accumulations, Mammoth Mountain reports a base of 12 to 14 feet; June Mountain closed operations Sunday.