PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (CA) Flooding continues for California - Day 11

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2017 12:36:10 EST

Summary: Flooding continues in California as another series of AR storms brings more rain to the region

Today, many parts of California are expected to receive 1-2 inches of rainfall, with some areas in southern California predicted to get as much as 4-6 inches of rain. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter weather advisory for the Sierra Nevada, and wind and flood advisories for much of southern California. Major flooding is expected, along with increased potential for flash floods, landslides, and debris flows, especially in recent wildfire burn areas.

The NOAA/NWS California Nevada River Forecast Center reports many California rivers remain above flood (14 gages) or monitor (30 gages) stage today, including 13 gage locations along the Sacramento River, and 4 gages on the San Joaquin River.

The California Water Science Center (CAWSC) has 10 crews responding to this event today from the Poway, CA (4), Santa Maria, CA (4) and Sacramento, CA (2) service areas. Most crews are performing high-flow measurements, but some are also performing service repairs or maintenance. Flood response by the CAWSC will be assessed continuously as these storms develop and as basins respond.

Crews from Sacramento will be conducting high-flow measurements today at sites on the Tuolumne River near La Grange, CA (11289650) and Modesto, CA (11290000). These measurements are conducted in coordination with Turlock Irrigation District (TID) and Modesto Irrigation District (MID) for rating verification and to help inform operational decisions related to dam releases from Don Pedro Reservoir.

Managers from the CAWSC remain in contact with water-resource managers from the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the California Department of Water Resources to coordinate USGS sampling or high-water measurements with planned flood releases.

No safety issues have occurred during this series of storms and all staff have followed USGS field reporting and safety protocols. Additional flood response crews are planned to deploy tomorrow, over the next few days, and into next week in response to these events. Updates will continue to be provided during the course of this event.