I-80 California/Nevada Mess In Sierra

I do love how the new agenda is to come up with dramatic terms to classify weather. Atmospheric River,,,,, so it’s gonna rain a lot and cause some abnormal flooding. Arctic Bomb Cyclone,,,,, high winds, cold temps, lots of snow. Holy crap, it’s winter!!!!!!

Robert, I just read this article and your comments came to mind. It's about all of the colorful descriptions used for describing weather events and even the science community thinks it's gotten out of control.

Can We Talk About How We Talk About the Weather?

It looks like we will finally be getting a break from some severe weather here but our flood risk in my area will remain for a long time because high river flows will be around for a while. From the Sacramento office of the National Weather Service:

Big snowpack in the Sierra Nevada region this season. The snowpack water equivalency is currently at 205% of normal for the date for the northern Sierra, 255% of normal in the central Sierra and 293% of normal for the southern Sierra. /Data courtesy California DWR/

Harvey, I know you live west of the Rockies, but what about to the east? Will that snowpack melt make it’s way to the Colorado River and help with the water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell?

Harvey, I know you live west of the Rockies, but what about to the east? Will that snowpack melt make it’s way to the Colorado River and help with the water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell?

I know that you directed this question to Harvey, but I am a geography buff, so I really wanted to answer this question.

The Colorado River is fed by 4 tributary rivers: the Gila River, the Green River, the Gunnison River, and the San Juan River. These tributaries are fed by either other tributary rivers or snowpack from other mountain ranges not named the Sierra Nevada.

Harvey, I know you live west of the Rockies, but what about to the east? Will that snowpack melt make it’s way to the Colorado River and help with the water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell?

I know that you directed this question to Harvey, but I am a geography buff, so I really wanted to answer this question.

The Colorado River is fed by 4 tributary rivers: the Gila River, the Green River, the Gunnison River, and the San Juan River. These tributaries are fed by either other tributary rivers or snowpack from other mountain ranges not named the Sierra Nevada.

Ok, great info. I wonder how big the snowpack is on the mountains you referred to? The Colorado river is such a prominent part of a very large area and has a great economic impact on agriculture, so I hope it benefits from extra precipitation this winter.

Harvey, I know you live west of the Rockies, but what about to the east? Will that snowpack melt make it’s way to the Colorado River and help with the water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell?

I know that you directed this question to Harvey, but I am a geography buff, so I really wanted to answer this question.

The Colorado River is fed by 4 tributary rivers: the Gila River, the Green River, the Gunnison River, and the San Juan River. These tributaries are fed by either other tributary rivers or snowpack from other mountain ranges not named the Sierra Nevada.

Ok, great info. I wonder how big the snowpack is on the mountains you referred to? The Colorado river is such a prominent part of a very large area and has a great economic impact on agriculture, so I hope it benefits from extra precipitation this winter.

A quick Google search reveals that statewide in Colorado, current snowpack is 125% of median level. Another Google search reveals that recent snowfall in Utah mountains has the head waters of the Colorado River looking healthy. It sounds like the outlook could be hopeful, but I have a gut feeling that like much of the waterways in the US, it's just not enough to make a substantial difference. Water levels have been falling dramatically for decades.

Thanks Ryan for answering that as I have only limited knowledge of what conditions are like for watersheds east of California, though I suspect these storms continued to dump some form of precipitation across much of the country.

I just saw an article that linked to to a report with some NASA images that show extensive snow beyond California. NASA report

I flew my drone around today east of our farm to get a better idea of the extent of fields east of me that are flooded. Our reclamation district has got a couple of pumps repaired but I expect it will take at least a couple of months to get all of this water pumped out into the rivers.

I've been in Minnesota or Wisconsin for the past three weeks and it has been winter precipitation 18 or 21 days. The snow on the ground in Minnesota is more than I've seen since I started driving. Montana, Iowa and the Dakotas have also had large amounts from what I've observed.

I've been in Minnesota or Wisconsin for the past three weeks and it has been winter precipitation 18 or 21 days. The snow on the ground in Minnesota is more than I've seen since I started driving. Montana, Iowa and the Dakotas have also had large amounts from what I've observed.

I'd read that the storm last week that hit minneapolis area dropped like 13 inches of snow over 2 days last week. They also got hit by this latest one Thursday though I'm unsure of snowfall amount. I went up there with my trainee last week and couldnt believe how much snow is just piled up everywhere. Iowa has been relatively warm especially south of US 20 and other than the Christmas blizzard most of our precip has been mostly rain up until Wednesday into Thursday. I live near US 20 and I35 and we picked up about 9 inches of wet nasty snow with smaller amounts to the south.

On Tuesday there was even a tornado (only 2nd time in january in recorded history, last being 1967) that threw a truck on its side on I80 near Williamsburg MM 220.

For those of us who regularly cross the Mississippi, it’s very obvious the Mississippi watershed needs significant water. The river looks to me to be about 4 to 6 feet lower than normal.

For those of us who regularly cross the Mississippi, it’s very obvious the Mississippi watershed needs significant water. The river looks to me to be about 4 to 6 feet lower than normal.

The primary source of water for the Mississippi is Lake Atasca in Minnesota. Lake Atasca is a ground spring and glacier fed lake.