Rain on Snow

[montezumawell]

When it rains on the snowpack it always produces spectacular results.
Today is no exception. The hydrographs of tributaries to the Verde River such as Oak and Wet & Dry Beaver Creeks look like moon shots. Even Sycamore Creek is getting back into the action, as evidenced by the Verde River at Clarkdale. If you just want to be an "armchair water watcher," today is the day to do it. All you have to do it keep checking in at:

http://az.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/current/?type=flow

and click on the various Verde River Basin links in the upstream portion.

(It takes a lot longer for the affect of rain on snow to impact the Salt River system gauges.)

Anyway, it's a LOT of fun!

We DEARLY wanted to hike Woods Canyon today but we knew danged well that we would get stranded back there because of rising water. There is a way out--the Hot Loop Trail--but it sure would make for a really LOOOONG day! We can only imagine what it would look like.

This is what the Red Rock Beach looked like Friday at 300 cfs. It eventually peaked at about 15-16 times this water volume.



J&S

[montezumawell]

Sure was great watching those creeks' hydrographs go straight up in flow volume!

[dennisbench]

These creeks are going ballistic!

Nice!! Coming up to one year to the day of my arrival in Arizona, and its nice to see some rain and snow. Every bit helps!

[montezumawell]

We went up to see Wet Beaver Creek Sunday evening a little after 7 p.m. We couldn't see much but it was worth the effort. Great sound effects and lots of rushing water!

The eventual peaks for the streams we like to watch were:

Granite Creek at Prescott: 550 cfs
Oak Creek at Sedona: 4,500 cfs
Wet Beaver Creek: 3,000
Dry Beaver Creek: 4,500
West Clear Creek: 4,100
Verde River near Clarkdale: 3,800
Verde River below Camp Verde: 9,000 and rising as of this note.

J&S

The Baker Butte snowpack actually survived the rainfall and gained some "water equivalent."
As of St. Patrick's morning there was a tad over 4 inches of water equivalent in the snow there.
Good news!

[azrocks]

The last two columns are the current and median flows. That's 30 to 40 times the median !

09504000 VERDE RIVER NR CLARKDALE, ARIZ. 03/16 21:30 5.52 3,680 130
09504420 OAK CREEK NEAR SEDONA, AZ 03/16 21:30 6.67 3,350 166
09504500 OAK CREEK NEAR CORNVILLE, AZ 03/16 19:00 5.75 1,850 117
09505200 WET BEAVER CREEK NEAR RIMROCK, ARIZONA 03/16 21:45 8.19 2,240 51.5
09505350 DRY BEAVER CREEK NEAR RIMROCK, ARIZ. 03/16 21:45 6.16 3,170 74.0
09505800 WEST CLEAR CREEK NEAR CAMP VERDE, ARIZ. 03/16 21:45 5.33 3,780 95.5

[Sredfield]

I understand there is a falls like this on the Little Colorado River also. Doesn't flow often but very spectacular when it does. Anyone have details?

3/17/03
Well Duh?? I should have looked this up in the trip catalog, and seen that it is the one up on the res.

[montezumawell]

Looking at water flow in Arizona is one of our great enjoyments! It's actually how we got together back in 1987! "We goes where the water flows."
There wasn't really any way to see Wet Beaver's peak flow last night of about 3,000 cubic feet per second. We went up to the Weir this morning as early as we could manage. By then, the volume was almost 90 percent less than the peak or roughly 3.5 feet lower on the gauge. Anyway, here it is about 11 a.m. this morning with the flow running roughly 350 cubic feet per second.
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Two water watchers having fun!
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J&S

[joebartels]

Now those are some real smiles
You guys look like a million bucks!!!

The only thing cooler than the desert is water in the desert! As the only days I'm getting off this month are in my dreams, keep the good stuff coming.

On a similar note...
Those Barnhardt photos sent in yesterday nearly made me cry
It was five years ago TODAY! I unknowingly hiked into that wonderland! The hydro adrenalin rushes are the best!!!