Updated Flood Potential Briefing

A Flood Warning was issued today by the National Weather Service:

...THE FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 PM MDT FRIDAY FOR LITTLE COTTONWOOD CREEK FROM THE HEADWATERS TO THE CONFLUENCE WITH THE JORDAN RIVER IN EAST CENTRAL SALT LAKE COUNTY... 

* AT 226 PM WEDNESDAY...RECENT WARM TEMPERATURES HAVE LED TO ACCELERATED SNOWMELT. WARM TEMPERATURES TODAY AND THURSDAY WILL INCREASE THE SNOWMELT...LEADING TO FURTHER INCREASES IN FLOWS ALONG LITTLE COTTONWOOD CREEK.

* THE LATEST FLOW ON LITTLE COTTONWOOD CREEK AT CRESTWOOD PARK IS 580 CUBIC FEET PER SECOND /CFS/.

* FLOOD FLOW IS 800 CFS.

* LITTLE COTTONWOOD CREEK IS EXPECTED TO RISE ABOVE FLOOD FLOW LATE THIS EVENING AND REMAIN ABOVE FLOOD FLOW THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

* AT 800 CFS...FLOOD DAMAGE WILL OCCUR IN THE 700 EAST AND FORT UNION AREAS. THIS ALSO INCLUDES MURRAY PARK AND STRUCTURES UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM OF THE PARK. FLOODING MAY OCCUR ON TO STATE STREET AS LITTLE COTTONWOOD CREEK FLOWS UNDER THE ROAD. AT THESE HIGH FLOWS...BANK EROSION WILL TAKE PLACE AND THREATEN STRUCTURES ALONG LITTLE COTTONWOOD CREEK.

Also, please see the following briefing emailed to us by the Salt Lake office of the National Weather Service. Slide 8 includes an informative comparison graph between last year’s snowpack at Snowbird and this year’s snowpack. Fortunately, we’ve averaged lower temperatures this year and emergency management officials have made additional preparations for floods.

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Hello Everyone,

We've put together a new flood potential briefing as of June 14th, 2011. This briefing looks at the June temperature levels compared to normal, and the remaining areas with sufficient snow to produce flooding. Additionally, we looked at the Cottonwood Canyons snowpack from June 5th, 2010 and compared it to the current snow levels. We did this to illustrate the snow levels that produced flooding last year, to the current snow levels.

If you wish to view this 9 minute briefing, please click on the following link:

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/wxbriefing/wxb14jun2011/player.html

Feel free to share this with anyone who may benefit, or if you would like to link this to your web-site, go right ahead.

Thanks again.

Brian.

Brian McInerney
Hydrologist
National Weather Service
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116