Flood Chronology of the Carson River Basin, California and Nevada

December 1955

Flooding in the Carson River Basin resulted from an intense, rainstorm with unseasonable high temperatures that melted part of the snowpack and that lasted several days. Precipitation in the headwaters averaged 10 to 13 inches and the snow level reached 8,500 feet in elevation. Damage caused by flooding was severe and included damages to bridges, roads, diversion structures, agricultural land, residences, and loss of livestock. On December 23, the flows at East Fork Carson River near Gardnerville, Nev., (gaging station 10309000) crested at 17,600 cubic feet per second (cfs) and the flows at West Fork Carson River at Woodfords, Calif., (gaging station 10310000) crested at 4,810 cfs . More than 16,000 acres were flooded in Carson Valley, about the same amount as in 1997, and many families were forced to move out when their homes were isolated and flooded. Lutheran Bridge on the East Fork Carson River in Carson Valley collapsed on December 23. The flow at the Carson River gage near Carson City,Nev., (gaging station 10311000) crested at 30,000 cfs on December 24, setting a record until the New Year's flood of 1997. The flood crested at Carson River near Fort Churchill, Nev., (gaging station 10312000) on December 26, with more than 11,000 acres flooded between Carson City and Lahontan Reservoir. Locals nicknamed the December 1955 flood the "Christmas flood."