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MagicMtnDan
03-21-2004, 07:40 AM
It's a great year to be a plant.
Or a tree. Or a waterfall, lake or stream.
The water content of California's mountain snowpack was measured at 123 percent of normal for March, 150 percent of normal north of Redding in the Shasta-Siskiyous and Trinity Alps ranges. Even with this month's unusually high temperatures, the year is shaping up as mind-blowing for farmers, cities, hydroelectric power generation and those who camp, fish and boat at the state's lakes and streams.
The temperature tantrum hit many parts of Northern California in the first week of March, just in time to complement the saturated soils brought on by a wet winter. That rare combination has vegetation sprouting and stretching for the sun along the California coast, Bay Area foothills and Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. In turn, deer, rabbits, hawks and all manner of wildlife are having feeding frenzies over the newfound eats, probably ensuring high survival rates of the year's newborn fawns and other critters.
"Man, it's going to be a great spring up here," said Deb Schweizer, a park ranger at Yosemite National Park. "We got 4 feet of snow three weeks ago, and now it's like 75 degrees. The Merced River is full of water. The waterfalls, like Yosemite Falls, have started flowing. This year they're going to be crankin'."
The spring is expected to be a charmed time for the California landscape, according to reports from field scouts at parks and national forests, officials at the Department of Water Resources and an aerial survey over 125, 000 square miles of Northern California.
Of course, record-setting temperatures can only continue for so long until they counter the good they brought early in the month. Dave Hart of the state Division of Flood Management said if dry weather persists into April, the gains in the water bank made in February would turn conditions into "an average year." The snowpack will be reassessed on April 1 and May 1.
Even then, the water content in some areas is far enough above average that an extended drought would not be a concern. The water bank's high point in California was measured in the Trinity Alps northwest of Redding, with 163 percent of average water content for March 1. If it does not rain or snow one drop or flake for all of March, the snowpack in the Trinities would still contain 146 percent of average water content for April 1, according to the Division of Flood Management.
Lake Oroville is often a testimonial to water conditions in Northern California. In May 2001, Oroville was only 60 percent full, the highest level it reached that year. This year, it is already 84 percent full, with two months of inflows still ahead.
While spring has sprung in the Bay Area, springlike conditions will climb to higher elevations over the next five months, with an 18-foot snowpack measured last week at Mount Shasta north of Redding, Donner Pass near Truckee, and Carson Pass in the central Sierra.
"It's incredible out there," said Dan Ballard of Shasta-Trinity National Forest, who completed a snow survey by helicopter. "Hey, we measured 18 feet of snow at Sand Flat (6,800 feet at Mount Shasta). The water content was 150 percent of normal."
At lower elevations, signs of a big water year and what that will deliver in the months to come have astounded many.
In the Sacramento Valley, the flood-relief bypasses, such as the Yolo Bypass, Butte Sink and others, filled during the storms fed by tropical moisture in February. From the air, it looks like an inland sea.
"You drive over the causeway on I-80 between Davis and Sacramento, and it's crazy to see all the water, levee to levee," said field scout John Lescroart in Davis.
"I'm reporting in from the Ryer Island Ferry in the Delta," said field scout Tom Hedtke. "The amount of water flowing through, high and brown, and all the wood and debris coming down, well, it's just amazing."
A survey flight over Northern California offers a number of stunning sights.
At the headwaters of Lake Oroville, up the Middle Fork of the Feather River, the 640-foot Feather Falls is blasting a flume of charging white water, billowing like a silver horsetail in the wind.
In the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness north of Sonora Pass, the snowcapped peaks look like iceberg pyramids.
At the Crystal Range in Eldorado National Forest west of Tahoe, the ice- covered granite walls look like glass crystal hand-cut with vertical striations.
The Bay Area foothills are aglow.
The San Gregorio Valley on the San Mateo County coast, the Stanford foothills and Mount Diablo are the most striking. With ground squirrels and mice active, red-tailed hawks seem to be everywhere in the foothills, searching, hovering and finding.
Up north at Shasta Lake, the state's largest reservoir and the West's No. 1 recreation lake, water managers have been scrambling for weeks dealing with the water gold mine.
Shasta has 370 miles of shoreline and captures runoff from streams and mountains across roughly 2,500 square miles. A month ago, the lake was about 40 feet from spilling and 80 percent full, well above normal for the time. In the next week, the area was deluged with the tropical-driven storm, including a 30-hour period with 7 to 12 inches of rain across the region. In a week, the lake rose 25 feet and reached 92 percent of capacity.
Water managers have been dumping water ever since, creating cheap hydroelectric power from Shasta Dam, raising water levels on the Sacramento River as much as 10 times higher than normal, and lowering the lake down to 78 percent full on Tuesday. For early March, that's still 104 percent of normal.
"One of the concerns at Shasta is to make sure there is enough capacity for water that is going to come from snowmelt as well as the occasional freak spring storm that has become so common," said Bob Warren, tourism manager for the city of Redding.
Even if another tropical-driven storm arrived, Hart of the Division of Flood Management said the state's reservoirs probably have enough storage capability to minimize flood dangers.
Warren, who lives on Shasta Lake, said he recorded 18 inches of rain at his home in two days in February.
"It's going to make an incredible rafting, boating and fishing season," he said.

framer1
03-21-2004, 08:53 AM
Does any of that snow pack effect lake Powell or Mead? If not what does?

BoatFloating
03-21-2004, 09:56 AM
Originally posted by framer1
Does any of that snow pack effect lake Powell or Mead? If not what does?
Your answer is no! Here info for Lake Powell that fills Mead and on down. Lake Powell info (http://www.summittech.com/LakePowell/Snowpack/LP_Snowpack.html)
Once again it doesn't look good for Lake Powell or Mead snow pack 80%.

Just Tool'n
03-21-2004, 12:07 PM
Being A life long resident of the San Joaquin valley, This is important information. That snow pack means full lakes for most of the season.
I remeber 1983, when we received 22 inches of rain that year, vs the normal 8 inches a year, the lakes were full all season long.
I like rain Nov thru March then bring on the hot weather for Hot Boating.
Even my 4 & 6 year old boys call it Hot Boating.

Dr. Eagle
03-21-2004, 04:23 PM
Originally posted by Just Tool'n
Even my 4 & 6 year old boys call it Hot Boating.
You the man....
I just hope I can get home for the summer!!!!

v-drive
03-21-2004, 05:24 PM
So if you were going to take a family vacation with the V-drive in tow witch lake in northern Kali would you guys suggest. Oh yeah I don't like crowds. :D :cool: v-drive

Dr. Eagle
03-21-2004, 05:37 PM
Originally posted by v-drive
So if you were going to take a family vacation with the V-drive in tow witch lake in northern Kali would you guys suggest. Oh yeah I don't like crowds. :D :cool: v-drive
You'll have a tought time escaping the crowds unless during the week.
A few of my faves are:
Don Pedro
McClure
New Hogan
Rollins
Folsom (usually crowded, I just live 2 miles away so it doesn't bother me)
Berryessa
Camp Far West
Bullards Bar
Oroville
Shasta
The Sacramento River
The Delta
Lots of places to boat up here...

bigpapasean
03-21-2004, 11:37 PM
Shasta would be my suggestion. Plenty of good campgrounds something like 350 miles of shore line so even on the crowded weekends there is plenty of room for all. Im lucky enough to live only 3 miles from Shasta and I go boating one to two times a week for the past two years and still find new spots every time I go :)

unleashed
03-21-2004, 11:44 PM
Whats the elevation at Shasta. Do you have to tinker with your motor to get it to run right?? Im thinking about doing a trip up there this summer for sures. Are there any docks available and hotels??
Deano
Unleashedclothing.com (http://www.unleashedclothing.com) :devil:

bigpapasean
03-21-2004, 11:50 PM
Elevation is about 1000. Bridge bay has nice hotel and marina its right off i5. My boat never goes any place else so I would not know about tuning.

Dr. Eagle
03-22-2004, 08:57 AM
Originally posted by bigpapasean
Elevation is about 1000. Bridge bay has nice hotel and marina its right off i5. My boat never goes any place else so I would not know about tuning.
At 1000 feet you should not need any tuning changes. I like Shasta, but it is 3 hours north of Sacto... so for me there are a whole lot of lakes closer. I do like doing the houseboat vacations on the lake though....