Weather or Whether 4 NorCal Sierras

[63bkpkr]

We are expecting some weather
Though actually the estimate is whether
We have snow or rain or both or none or some.

What torment to wait and see what is to transpire
The waiting and baiting by the weather estimators
Whether to prep our gear or let ourselves out for hire?

A week or two More might tell the tale
Will we be panning, or sluicing or sampling
But to be out there would be great especially to share an Ale!

The snow on the ground is a thinning
From elevations low to 7000 feet we are winning
The next two weeks will be telling whether we
Will start soon or if the Weather will keep us (you fill in the blank)

A poet I'm not but I'm bored so there it is, nothing that Lanny need worry about!. Keep on smiling ........63bkpkr

 

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[firebird]

It's strange, I honestly can't remember the last time it rained in May. I've gotten so used to the drought for several years that this much rain feels so weird now.

 

[Tahoegold]

Didn't get much in Tahoe today. Sprinkles, no big rains yet. Looks like the foothills are getting lots of rain.

 

[digger460]

Rained like a banchee here in shingle springs last night.

 

[SchoolOfHardRocks]

Unfortunately it seems like this is going to be a cold storm with snow levels dropping to 5000 feet. I was hoping for a warm one to melt the snow. The river I frequent east of Sac has been holding steady at ~2500 CFS. Still too high to snipe. Turbulent water makes it hard to sluice.. although I did see a guy trying to snipe a couple weeks ago.. I'm sure he was fighting cold water, the current, and low visibility the whole time (I've made the same mistake before). I did find shallow pockets loaded with black sand and flood gold all over the place, leading me to be very optimistic for the summer. Tons of snakes too! I saw 4 on a hundred yard stretch of river!

Like Herb said, it's wait and see... but I suspect this storm, due to the snow, is only going to prolong the high waters a little longer But hey, it will make it that much sweeter when the time finally comes!

 

[63bkpkr]

At 10:21 AM this morning (16May19)at the Royal Gorge Ski Resort the temp was 26 degrees F so possibly the previous wetish snow packed ICED over. The NFAR water flow at about midnight last night went up, almost straight up so the water coming off the mountain and of course some new snow has really boosted the flow. I think it all still means Wait too see what happens through this week into next week, that's Whether we like the Weather or not. Sigh?...............63bkpkr


Addendum: @ 10:30 AM (16May). Along Highway 80;

5000'. Blue Canyon Wet

6100' Kingvale. Wet

6700' Soda Springs Sssssnow

7100' Castle Peak Sssssnow

7200' Donner Summit, you guessed it the white stuff

BUT at all snow locations the NEW Snow is not thick/deep. and the weather guessers are predicting a "Winter Mix". I assume that means snow and rain with rain and snow. However tonight it is expected to get quite cold [today through Saturday of the following week = below freezing like in the mid 20's]so Highway 80 will be solid ice and so will all the wet snow. Will it warm up a little next week and RAIN Heavily? {maybe better odds than the LoTo but not by much}. Well "S" word (snow)!

Addendum #2: 4:20 PM 16 May. Highway 80

6500' on down there is running water on the shoulder of the Highway and light snow has started at 5000'

~ 7000' and up the snow is accumulating, the Highway is very wet

At Donner Lake there is none to very little snow.

At Royal Gorge Ski Lodge the Bear Traps at the base of some trees have filled in. Canyon by Canyon weather.

The NFAR Doubled its CFS flow rate in 12 hours peaking at ~4300cfs

 

[Tahoegold]

Sat night through Sun afternoon, cold, snow and rain. I seriously hope you have a dry warm place to stay!

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Still snowing in the Rockies. I thought winter was over but we wake up with 7 new inches of snow every weekend it seems.

 

[gold tramp]

Sat night through Sun afternoon, cold, snow and rain. I seriously hope you have a dry warm place to stay!

Drywashin and bleepin going strong here. Warm n dry gets even better when it hits 110.
Gt...

 

[Asmbandits]

I made it out Friday morning to this morning up near Colfax on the bear river. A buddy came up fro San Diego and only had this window, and we hit it just right as when we arrived at the river the rain was just stopping and it did not start again until right after we left this morning. It was a little cloudy out but still nice weather and windows of blue sky and sun which were really nice. The flow on the bear, even with the rain was much lower than the last few trips out.

 

[calsierra-Dan]

Ya we got a lil bit of snow on the dogwood blooms here in pollock pines , thats supossed to be sign of summer but forcast of rain wont give up ! And those rivers are gonne be rippin for awhile !

 

[bug]

Ya Dan with all that warm weather we were having before this rain, I was wondering if we were going to get that dogwood snow this year.
It never seems to fail though.

 

[calsierra-Dan]

Ya right it happends every year just never know when , ya creeks up this way are rippin like rivers!

 

[Goldwasher]

Mytimetoshine and I got soaked for the first few hours yesterday.

It was nice when the sun came out.

Felt like February most of the morning.

 

[wildminer]

I'm lovin' the normal weather here in Oregone, a little bit of this and a little bit of that!

 

[Laz7777]

seen rain in May like this, but never for days on end...the south fork is receding via Spaulding dam, but no crossing the river yet.

was out on the bedrock yesterday in a lull..good thing I had a boulder overhang to get under.
when the sky goes dark at 2pm...wooohoo.
in a sad note, found an injured golden eagle yesterday..tough place to try to get someone in to get it.

 

[Tahoegold]

This is amazing...Our snow pack is 12% larger than in 2017!!

As of Thursday, the snowpack measured 202% of average after a barrage of storms throughout winter and spring, according to the Department of Water Resources.

The wet weather has slowed but not stopped, with thunderstorms prompting flash flood warnings Sunday in the central and southern parts of the state.

At this time last year, the snowpack measured 6% of average — making this year 33 times bigger than 2018, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In 2017, the snowpack measured 190% of average.

 

[63bkpkr]

Tahoegold, interesting info! What I do not hear anyone talking about is how, at least one of the gold country rivers, has been running at over 2000 cfs since almost January. It got up to 3300 last week and then went down to 2500. In 2017 the 50,000 and 40,000 events really changed the river but how they happened has not had an explanation. If it were to heat up quickly right now the flows might be significant, 30,000 cfs has been a high number for several years, till 2017............63bkpkr

 

[Tahoegold]

Right, I would think high flows would dislodge big gold in the river. But, what happens when water keeps flowing on the creeks and streams? I think the only way we'll know will be when it all settels down. Will there be a flood gold refill of cervaces? Will there be less material on top of large pieces that will now be detectable? Look at the graph for the Bear and AM Rivers. The flow level, although not high, is consistanly higher.

 

[Goldwasher]

Right, I would think high flows would dislodge big gold in the river. But, what happens when water keeps flowing on the creeks and streams? I think the only way we'll know will be when it all settels down. Will there be a flood gold refill of cervaces? Will there be less material on top of large pieces that will now be detectable? Look at the graph for the Bear and AM Rivers. The flow level, although not high, is consistanly higher.

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nope... no gold is moving in any of the rivers...even at these flows. it's not the right situation.

if it is moving it is flood gold in a shifting bar..but not much and not far.