Flood warning

Flood warning
National weather service san joaquin valley - hanford ca
852 am pst sun dec 2 2012

...The national weather service in hanford has issued a flood warning
For the following rivers in california...

Merced river at pohono bridge

.Heavy rain is expected today which will result in rapid rises on the
Merced river in yosemite valley.

Forecasts are based on present and forecasted meteorological and
Hydrologic conditions at time of issuance.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

Unlisted forecast points are expected to remain below monitor stage.
All those affected by river conditions should remain alert for rapid
Changes and for possible forecast revisions.

For more hydrologic information and stage definitions refer to the
Following web site (all lower case):
Http://www.Wrh.Noaa.Gov/hnx/hydro.Php


&&

Cac043-031852-
/o.New.Khnx.Fl.W.0001.121203t0000z-121203t2012z/
/pohc1.1.Er.121203t0000z.121203t0100z.121203t0212z.No/
852 am pst sun dec 2 2012

The national weather service in hanford has issued a

* flood warning for
The merced river at pohono bridge.
* from this afternoon to monday afternoon...Or until the warning is
Cancelled.
* at 8:00 am sunday the stage was 3.3 feet.
* minor flooding is forecast.
* expected to rise above flood stage of 10.0 ft late this afternoon
Then forecast to crest near 10.5 ft late this afternoon then
Forecast to fall below flood stage of 10.0 ft this evening then
Forecast to recede to near 5.5 ft tomorrow morning.
* flood stage 10.0 ft
* impact...Near 10.5 feet, water tops the swinging bridge downstream
From chapel meadow. Overflow from woski pond floods access
Road(northside drive) leading out of the west entrance of the park.
* impact...Near 10.0 feet, western portion of north pines
Campground...Located at the east end of yosemite valley between the
Confluence of the merced river and tenaya creek...Begins to flood.
Water rises to the base of the swinging bridge downstream from
Chapel meadow.
* impact...Near 9.5 feet, portion of lower pines campground becomes
Flooded. Limited site-specific evacuations begin at housekeeping
Camp located along the south-facing bank of the merced river.
(upstream from sentinel bridge and downstream from stoneman bridge)
* impact...Near 9.0 feet, chapel meadow (south side of river) and
Cooks meadow (north side of river) begins to experience overflow.
* impact...Near 6.5 feet, river is closed to rafters and flotation.


$$

Cb

The gauge at Pohono only made it to 6 ft., and is going down now.

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=hnx&gage=pohc1&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1

I was looking at the lake level of Shasta Lake. It went up 16.5 inches in about 5 days. Shasta is a HUGE resevoir. It looks like they slowed down the outflow, but the inflow was up to almost 75,000 cubic feet per second. That's a hell of a lot of water!

Indeed. It's the first step in what we've needed.

In Napa, we flirted with flood stage, but left it at the altar...

---

Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

Quote
Dave
Shasta is a HUGE resevoir. It looks like they slowed down the outflow, but the inflow was up to almost 75,000 cubic feet per second. That's a hell of a lot of water!

An aside: At it's level best the Happy Isle gauging station can post 10,000 cfps. That's before all the other tributaries kick in prior to the river exicting the park.

---

Old Dude



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2012 03:03PM by mrcondron.

Quote
Dave
I was looking at the lake level of Shasta Lake. It went up 16.5 inches in about 5 days. Shasta is a HUGE resevoir. It looks like they slowed down the outflow, but the inflow was up to almost 75,000 cubic feet per second. That's a hell of a lot of water!

Actually, that was 16.5 feet in five days. The dam weather station itself got almost 15 inches of rain. They haven't posted today's level yet, but I'm guessing that water will be pouring in for days, because the drainage upstream is a whole lot more than 13 times the area of the reservoir....

I stand corrected. That's still a hell of a lot of water.

I know where I go tomorrow! I've wanted to go for a drive after being cooped up for a few days; Owens Dam. It's on Whiterock Road west of Mariposa. It's a flood control dam and there should still be a lot of water gushing out of the pipe at the bottom of the dam. Should be lots of birds in the area too. I saw 3 Egyptian Geese not far from there.