By Jim Stanford on June 5, 2010
Oops, we nearly overfilled it.
I’m at Summit on the Snake, where we just received word that the Bureau of Reclamation has warned that it will sharply increase the flow of the Snake River in the next two days.
As astounding as it sounds, the bureau may have to match or exceed inflow into Jackson Lake reservoir, meaning the river suddenly could hit flood stage.
Boaters should exercise caution.
Update: The bureau will increase the release from Jackson Lake Dam to 5,500 cfs by tonight. That means the flow in Grand Teton National Park likely will exceed 12,000 cfs Sunday — four times the volume from June 3. The canyon flow should top 16,000 cfs. By Monday, the dam release could rise to 8,000 cfs or more, depending on inflow to the reservoir.
Update 6/6: The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for the Teton area through Tuesday morning. Details after the jump.
A PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT PACIFIC MOISTURE INTO WESTERN...NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING TODAY... TONIGHT...MONDAY...MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING. LOCAL RAINFALLS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES MAY FALL ON A RAPIDLY MELTING SNOW PACK...WHICH MAY CAUSE FLASH FLOODING ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN... NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING THROUGH NOON TUESDAY. THE SNOW MELT COMBINED WITH RAINFALL COMBINED MAY EQUAL WATER RUNOFF INTO STREAMS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES A DAY. ALONG WITH FLASH FLOODING OF STREAMS...DEBRIS FLOWS ON STEEP SATURATED MOUNTAIN SLOPES WILL BE A THREAT.
Posted under Environment, Sports, Weather
Considering Jackson Lake is 93% full (as of yesterday), I’d say there’s a good chance of this happening.
Initially this was presented to us as a sort of emergency warning, with the huge increase to take place in one day, which I found hard to believe. Later I was able to clarify that the flows would be raised over several days.
the river between moran and moose looks ominous. i drove the RKO road this afternoon and observed a raft launching from deadmans bar at 6:30 pm sunday evening. it doesnt look wise.