The Howe Ave. parking lot on the American River underwater
Tthe calendar says “spring” but Northern California has been getting hammered by a series of huge winter storms all week which have delivered serious amounts of rain to the lower elevations and many feet of snow to the high country…the likes of which we haven’t seen since I was a kid.
Of course, all that weather isn’t without complications. Most NorCal rivers are raging and the reservoirs are full. The Sacramento River is currently running around 100,000 CFS and getting very close to flood stage. With all the snow in the high country, let’s keep our fingers crossed that there are no Pineapple Express-style warm storms heading this way! On a positive note, we should have plenty of water this year!
Starting in the high country, here’s a look at the Tahoe area, where I’ve been the past few days…
There's about 12 feet of snow on the roof of the house and we actually had to dig down from the roof level to get to the door!
The snow banks in the Tahoe Basin are 10-14 feet high
Clear Lake has also been getting pounded and the lake level has been rising dramatically. Here’s a photo Big Fred Contaoi passed along of the back yard of a lakefront home that one of his friends owns…
Flooding is a major issue at Clear Lake now
While there is localized small stream flooding down in the foothills and Sac Valley, the Sacramento River is getting dangerously high. Here’s the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers…normally you can pass a huge yacht under the green bridge. This situation can be very scary for people and their homes, they are worried that there might be considerable damage done to their property. If this does happen, check on your home insurance to see if it covers you as much as you need it to. Check out the homeowners insurance declaration page so you know what you are meant to be getting from your insurance company and then change if you feel you need to, to better protect yourself.
The 5 mph signs hanging under the bridge are typically 15 feet above your head as you float under
Jeremiah says
The rivers are huge right now! I flew back into Sacramento on Tuesday. There was water everywhere. I had a great view sitting on the left side of the plane of the delta, then we circled around over Woodland, Knights Landing and Verona before landing. All the water coming down the yolo bypass was a sight to see! The water is about 10′ from the top of the ramp at Miller Park downtown and that’s with over 100k cfs being diverted by the bypass. That’s crazy the way that tree is hung up on the 5mph sign on the jibboom st. bridge! I saw the same thing Tuesday when driving home from the airport.
Richard Dragseth says
Over a year ago a friend bet me $50 that he would never see Oeoville lake full again in his life. That should get me 10 gals of gas.
Rudy Hernandez says
Wow… this is unbelievable. Let’s just hope after all of this, it makes for a good fishing season.
Fishclaws says
It’s a blessing in my opinion that we are filling our reservoirs,lakes. Let’s hope that the agencys in charge manage it properly.