Tuesday, December 19, 2006
North Fork American NOAA Project
Temporary weather stations were installed on the North Fork American as part of a greater project on the American River. The research project is headed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration. Tim Schneider, manager of the project said, "There's really nowhere else in the U.S. that has this collection of instrumentation." The American River flows will be the proving ground for the Sacramento area since flooding is a major concern.
More than 30 stations were set up along the North Fork American River. The stations will measure a slew of data including a portable Doppler radar that will help to track storms throughout the watershed. Rob Hartman, hydrologist for the National Weather Service River Forecast Center in Sacramento says, "We can pin down which portion of the watershed that's being rained on v.s. snowed on, which has a big impact on flow conditions."
NOAA placed these gauges in an attempt to provide analysis for predicting "Pineapple Express" path of storms that regularly hit the Sacramento Region. These warm storms that hit large snowpacks in the varying watersheds of the Sierras causes a torrent of water to flow from these rivers and towards the metropolitan areas of Sacramento. The warnings could provide better response for dam releases based on these predictions.
Though the stations are temporary, they will eventually replace the current standards as funding is made available.
Thanks to Matt Weiser of the Sacramento Bee
More than 30 stations were set up along the North Fork American River. The stations will measure a slew of data including a portable Doppler radar that will help to track storms throughout the watershed. Rob Hartman, hydrologist for the National Weather Service River Forecast Center in Sacramento says, "We can pin down which portion of the watershed that's being rained on v.s. snowed on, which has a big impact on flow conditions."
NOAA placed these gauges in an attempt to provide analysis for predicting "Pineapple Express" path of storms that regularly hit the Sacramento Region. These warm storms that hit large snowpacks in the varying watersheds of the Sierras causes a torrent of water to flow from these rivers and towards the metropolitan areas of Sacramento. The warnings could provide better response for dam releases based on these predictions.
Though the stations are temporary, they will eventually replace the current standards as funding is made available.
Thanks to Matt Weiser of the Sacramento Bee
Labels: american river, flows, north fork, rafting, trips
# posted by W.E.T. River Trips - raftWET.com @ 9:28 AM 
