Record Calif. snowpack raises summer flood fear

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

More snow than has ever been recorded this close to summer is blanketing Donner Summit, creating a potentially dangerous situation when the snow begins to melt, hydrology experts said Tuesday.

A summer heat wave could cause melting snow in the Sierra to cascade down from the mountains all at once, overwhelming reservoirs and river channels and causing widespread flooding, California water officials warned.

The disastrous scenario is a distinct possibility, officials said, because unseasonably cold weather over the past month has frozen the Sierra snowpack in place long after it would have normally melted.

"This year we have more snow than we've ever had at this time," said Randall Osterhuber, a lead researcher and hydrologist at UC Berkeley's Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, near Donner Pass, one of the few places in the Sierra where snow measurements can still be taken this late in the year. "California has the tendency to get very hot very fast this time of year. We're only a couple of weeks from the summer solstice and the chances of this are increasing every day. We've never seen the impact of full-on summer temperatures with such a large snowpack."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/08/MNVO1JQ9B4.DTL

[slackmaster]

1. If it's not one thing, it's another

Drought or floods.

[plumbob]

3. Drought here in west Texas. No measurable precip in 284 days.

Water restrictions part 2 about to begin - reduce usage by 20%.

[AtheistCrusader]

2. Little worried in the greater seattle area.

Carnation/Duvall might be a write-off this year. Our snowpack is a thing to behold, and it's still accumulating.

[Brother Buzz]

4. I'd be more concerned about a monster rogue Pineapple Express than a heat wave

That, or the stalled remains of a Pacific Hurricane pushed up from Mexico

[Xithras]

11. A heat wave will do it.

I've been in the Yosemite backcountry in late June, hiking in 90 degree heat. It's not unusual for the Sierras to get pretty warm in the summer...and it's summer now.

We've had an unusually long and rainy winter because of an uncommon shift in the Alaskan current because of La Nina. We know from past La Ninas that those currents can shift around in only a few days time.

Three days ago it was snowing in the Yosemite backcountry and surrounding High Sierras, which feeds water into four major rivers into the valley. This afternoon, it's 73 degrees in Yosemite Valley. Next week it may make it into the upper 70's.

Do you know how fast snow melts in that weather?

[Mz Pip]

5. It's not like it hasn't happened before

There was a flood over a hundred years ago that flooded the central valley. We have levees now but I do worry about how well they have been maintained.

In 1997 Yosemite Valley was flooded. This video is pretty amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GttPGfZgY2w

[armodem08]

15. That's a lot of water! n/t

[bongbong]

6. Thank you!

Thanks to the Koch Korporate Kriminals, among other repigs, Anthropogenic Climate Change is happening. The timetable is even faster than predicted by the private reports that the billionaire psychopaths had researched for them.

[The Croquist]

12. So what isn't caused by Global Warming?

So too much snow followed by below average temperatures is because of global warming? No doubt below average snow followed by an early melt would also be because of global warming.

[bongbong]

13. Yes

There are plenty of peer-reviewed science papers on the Internet describing how Man-made Climate Change causes all those things and more. Start with http://www.realclimate.org/

[dubeskin]

7. All the rain means a really dry summer

which means our chances of a really bad wildfire season just skyrocketed. It's not going to be good.

[NickB79]

10. Yeah, that extra moisture bump should really juice up the plant growth

And if all that extra vegetation dries out later in the year, watch out.

[thelordofhell]

8. April showers bring May flowers

May flowers are June dead flowers
June dead flowers bring July wild fires

[slackmaster]

9. ...followed by mud slides in the burned areas next time it rains.

:argh:

[FirstLight]

14. It's really weird up here, fo shoo

The article says that the snowpack is deeper than ever for this time of year, i had snow on my lawn as recently as this weekend...
Went for a ride around the Lake on friday and most of the campgrounds aren't even open all the way because of huge snow patches still lingering...

After living in an area for a couple decades, you get to know the scenery, seasons and vegetation as it changes. I can tell you it looks like APRIL up here, not JUNE, the leaves on the trees are still confused whether to come out all the way. It's creepy.
I have seen drought, i have seen Tahoe change over the years and the past 2 years especially are stranger than ever.

If we get some good warm rains (pineapple express) or some heat wave (we have yet to see 70 degrees up here this year!)
the pack is gonna go fast, and that is definitely a danger.

Personally, I am more worried that summer (if it comes at all) won't last past September and we will have another hellacious winter to deal with.
If climate change means I get more of this, I am gonna move somewhere HOT! lol