West Under Siege: Flooding Ravages California

[Ivan Seeking]

We have been getting hammered out here. California is about to float away!

A pretty good measure of the recent rainfall in the hills around us is our creek, which I just clocked at over 200 ft³/sec...actually, 220. and once again I am hoping that we don't lose the footbridge... It's only been that high twice in fifteen years: Once during the 500 year flood of 96, and briefly one night I think last year, after many days of heavy rain. Normally the highest flows on a good year are around 80 -100 ft³/sec

 

[tribdog]

engineers, you just got to love em

 

[scott1]

I'am currently in northern California(almost towards organ)It's been raining all day.Is this because of gobal warming or somthing because frist it's the worst hurricane season(or year) and now it's raining in califrornia.

 

[tribdog]

I have to drive to California on sunday and work outside sunday and monday. Any idea what the weather's supposed to be like in the Palmdale area? and don't link me to a weather site. I want someone to poke their head out a window and look up and tell me.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Southern California is just slightly overcast.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The I-5 South between Oregon and California is closed due to a landslide.

 

[tribdog]

I swear to god I love you guys.

 

[Pengwuino]

I'am currently in northern California(almost towards organ)It's been raining all day.Is this because of gobal warming or somthing because frist it's the worst hurricane season(or year) and now it's raining in califrornia.

... it always rains in california.

How the hell did you measure 200 cubic feet/sec ivan? :P

 

[russ_watters]

Well, if California and its 55 electoral votes float away...

Yeah, I can live with that.

 

[loseyourname]

It had been raining for three days straight up in Sonoma, and had begun to flood, when Shannon and I escaped down here to Long Beach. It hasn't rained for more than a few hours here.

 

[tribdog]

... it always rains in california.
How the hell did you measure 200 cubic feet/sec ivan? :P

Do you mean how would WE measure it? Ivan just knows things.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

How the hell did you measure 200 cubic feet/sec ivan? :P

Well, first of all, we have nice channel where the foot bridge is located. The stream channel is almost perfectly square [I should say rectangular], flat, and the bridge gives an absolute meaure of the stream depth. So this gives me a nice cross section to work with. Next, a floating object that is submerged to a depth of about six inches can be used to estimate the stream velocity. As turns out, given a rectangular channel [depth is less than the width], if you measure the speed of the marker and multiply by 0.6 you will get a reasonable approximation of the average stream velocity over the entire cross section. And of course I have landmarks at a known distances that are used to estimate the distance traveled over time. But after 15 years I can pretty much tell just by looking.

I found this method in an old engineering handbook and have used it to estimate known flows. The results were pretty good; say withing 10%. In fact, I had a little fun and blew away my fluids professor when, while on a field trip to Bonneville dam, I used this method to estimate the flow at Multnoma Falls http://trips.stateoforegon.com/multnomah_falls/ to withing a few cubic feet per second; and just by looking at it! No doubt I got lucky but it got quite a reaction.

 

[Pengwuino]

Ya know what I just realized...

I thought you were talken about water depth... and now i just noticed that thast impossible unless length is no longer measured in feet and that your city was flooded in .2 seconds...

man I am stupid.

But not that stupid.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh well, its a nice little trick to estimate stream flows...

...but the jokes on you! in fact the creek really is about 200 feet deep, we just can't see the lower 196 feet of it.

 

[Pengwuino]

haha... got me there!

 

[zoobyshoe]

No rain in Southern California.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Northern California got drenched last night. My dad measured 2.5 inches of rain in just over twelve hours, and some areas are flooding, but so far I haven't heard of any disasters.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Today it sprinkled a bit, then stopped. Then it started again, and this turned to rain. It's raining now.

 

[tribdog]

My boss called me today and said it would be better if I drove out there today so I could get to work in the morning. You ever have a boss who just assumes you have nothing better to do than go to work? I don't want to leave today, but in order to get to work in the morning I'm probably going to have to leave at 2 or 3 AM

 

[zoobyshoe]

My boss called me today and said it would be better if I drove out there today so I could get to work in the morning. You ever have a boss who just assumes you have nothing better to do than go to work? I don't want to leave today, but in order to get to work in the morning I'm probably going to have to leave at 2 or 3 AM

This is our first rain of the season so the roads are going to be their very slickest. Also, all the California drivers you encounter aren't going to have their "sea-legs" yet. It takes a week or so of accidents and fender benders before everyone gets the idea they have to drive slower.

 

[tribdog]

I drive like a little old lady anyway. Well, a little old lady with a really big truck.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Today it sprinkled a bit, then stopped. Then it started again, and this turned to rain. It's raining now.

Why don't you go outside and watch.

Do you have any flooding down south, I've only seen it in central and northern Ca

 

[tribdog]

and take some golf clubs and a ladder.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Why don't you go outside and watch.
Do you have any flooding down south, I've only seen it in central and northern Ca

I am outside. Aren't my posts all wet at your end?

 

[tribdog]

keep your wet post away from his end. There are minors around here

 

[zoobyshoe]

keep your wet post away from his end. There are minors around here

Yomamma's a corrupt troll. He won't even notice or care.

 

[Moonbear]

My boss called me today and said it would be better if I drove out there today so I could get to work in the morning. You ever have a boss who just assumes you have nothing better to do than go to work? I don't want to leave today, but in order to get to work in the morning I'm probably going to have to leave at 2 or 3 AM

That's insane! You sure don't want to be on the roads that hour of the night tonight of all nights! You'll spend half the drive dodging drunk drivers and the other half sitting in line at checkpoints. Your boss sounds a bit unreasonable. I guess you could just say "okay," and then call whenever you really leave and tell him you've been stuck in ridiculous traffic for hours, must be some bad accident, the cars aren't even moving, you'll be a bit late. Oh, right, you're actually honest. Why do you have to start work first thing in the morning on New Year's Day? Can't the job wait to be started on Monday?

 

[loseyourname]

Well, apparently Sonoma County is flooding all over the place. Mudslides in Santa Rosa and water knee-deep in parts of Petaluma. Our apartment is wedged directly between those two cities, so I hope it's okay. We're on the second floor, but even so. I'm getting gladder and gladder not to be there. It's been raining all day here in Long Beach, but nowhere near flood levels. The Alamitos Bay and the canals are still well below the sidewalk, and the piers aren't really rising.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

OT, LYN, are they going to close the Queen Mary? I heard something in the news.

 

[Pengwuino]

The worst here in Fresno is transformers blowing up left and right...