Flooding during November and December resulted from a series of rapid moving storms and unseasonably high temperatures that melted most of the early snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. From November 14 to November 21, 6.2 inches of rain fell in Carson City. The flows at East Fork Carson River near Gardnerville gage, Nev., (gaging station 10309000) peaked on November 21 at 12,100 cubic feet per secound (cfs), and the Carson River near Carson City, Nev., (gaging station 10311000) crested the following day at 15,500 cfs.
Meteorological:
Type of event: rain-on-snow
Description:
A sequence of rapid moving storms and unseasonably high temperatures melted most of the early snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. Total precipitation ranged from about 5 inches at the base to about 30 inches at the crest (Rigby and others, 1998). Precipitation data at the National Weather Service Carson City gage (4,750 ft) indicates 6.2 inches of rain fell over 8 consecutive days from November 14 to November 21, 1950.
References:
Rigby, J.G., Crompton, E.J., Berry, K.A., Yildirim, U., Hickman, S.F., and Davis, D.A., 1998, The 1997 New Year's Floods in Western Nevada: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Special Publication 23, p. 87.Wells, J.V.B., 1954, Floods of November-December 1950 in western Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1137-H, p. 897-955.Carson City station precipitation data (number 261485) from the National Climate Data Center.
Hydrologic Data:
To view hydrologic data, select a gaging station from the list below:
| 10309000 | East Fork Carson River near Gardnerville, NV |
| 10310000 | West Fork Carson River at Woodfords, CA |
| 10311000 | Carson River near Carson City, NV |
Photos:
Click on photo for a larger image and full caption. Approximate photo location is shown on map.
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