Flooding in the Carson River Basin was caused by an unseasonably warm storm with torrential rain that melted part of the snowpack. Warm winds and heavy rain, with more than 14 inches at Woodfords, melted most of the new snow at lower elevations and compacted snow at higher elevations. On December 23, 1964, the East Fork Carson River near Gardnerville, Nev., (gaging station 10309000) peaked at 8,230 cubic feet per second (cfs), and West Fork Carson River at Woodfords, Calif., (gaging station 10310000) peaked at 3,100 cfs. In Carson Valley, 13,500 acres of agricultural land flooded. On December 25, the Carson River near Carson City, Nev., (gaging station 10311000) peaked at 8,740 cfs , and on December 26, 1964, the Carson River near Fort Churchill, Nev., (gaging station 10212000) peaked at 7,220 cfs.
Meteorological:
Type of event: rain-on-snow
Description:
The National Weather Service Woodfords preciptation gage reported over 14 inches of precipitation from December 19, 1964, through January 7, 1965, with an intermittent warm period from December 21 to December 26, 1964.
References:
Rigby, J.G., Crompton, E.J, Berry, K.A., Yildirim,U., Hickman, S.F., and Davis, D.A., 1998, The 1997 New Year's Floods in Western Nevada; Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Special Publication 23, 111p. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1965, Report on floods of Dec. 1964-Jan. 1965-- Sacramento-San Joaquin basins, California and western Great Basin, California and Nevada: Sacramento District, Corps of Engineers, 138 p.Woodfords station (number 049775) from the National Climate Data Center. Site discontinued.
Hydrologic Data:
To view hydrologic data, select a gaging station from the list below:
| 10308200 | East Fork Carson River below Markleeville, CA |
| 10308800 | Bryant Creek near Gardnerville, NV |
| 10309000 | East Fork Carson River near Gardnerville, NV |
| 10310000 | West Fork Carson River at Woodfords, CA |
| 10311000 | Carson River near Carson City, NV |
| 10312000 | Carson River near Fort Churchill |
Photos:
Click on photo for a larger image and full caption. Approximate photo location is shown on map.
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