Analysis of three rain on snow floods in the Sierra Nevada, California
Title | Analysis of three rain on snow floods in the Sierra Nevada, California |
Publication Type | Conference Proceedings |
Year of Conference | 1983 |
Authors | Hall, R. L., and Hannaford J. F. |
Conference Name | 51st Annual Western Snow Conference |
Series Title | Proceedings of the 51st Annual Western Snow Conference |
Date Published | April 1983 |
Publisher | Western Snow Conference |
Conference Location | Vancouver, Washington |
Keywords | American River, Flood-hydrograph, Floods, Rain-on-snow, Sierra Nevada, Snow accumulation, Snowmelt |
Abstract | Historic rain on snow flood conditions were investigated during the design flood study for a project in the American River basin of California. Basins analyzed range in elevation from under 300 m to nearly 3000 m and have average annual precipitation between 1000 and 2000 mm. Proximity to the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory operated by the U.S. Forest Service and a first order National weather Service station provided temperature, dewpoint, radiation and wind data that allowed use of relatively detailed procedures for calculation of snow accumulation and melt. Watersheds were subdivided into contributing areas and snow condition was calculated for each area on an hourly basis. Rainfall and snowmelt runoff values from each area were routed through the stream channels. |
URL | sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1983Hall.pdf |