Kern River Rafting & Kayaking River Notes
Sierra South News Images

Big Smiles on Big Daddy Rapid!
Sierra South Lickety-Split Raft Trip - June 1, 2013

Go on a Sierra South Raft Trip or IK Trip, take a Kayaking Class, or learn to paddle a Stand Up Paddleboard!

Paddle a Stand Up Paddleboard!
Intro SUP and SUP 101 Classes

You've seen them at the lake, river, beach and on TV -- learn to paddle a SUP! It's fun and a great way to get an on-the-water workout! We offer a 2.5 hour Intro to SUP class and a more extensive SUP 101 class. We also have 4 Hour, Full Day, and Overnight SUP rentals.

Hyside's Richard Dechant's Aqua RV Hooligan Boat
2013 Kern River Festival

It doesn't take a lot of water to have a lot of fun on the Kern River, and everyone at the 49th Kern River Festival this past weekend had a GREAT time paddling in the Hooligan, Triathlon, SUP and Slalom events.

Easter Raft Trip with Sierra South
Ewings Rapid - March 31, 2013

Great weather for rafting on Easter Sunday!

Hooligan Parade Float
in Kernville's Whiskey Flat Parade February 16, 2013

The Annual Whiskey Flats Parade took place recently which means we are close to the new boating season! Always looking for an excuse to enter a parade, Kern River Festival/Hooligan Parade alumni Dennis Veale, Art Jacklin, Tobin Spencer, along with help from Kernville resident/ retired cowboy turned boater Jim Neukirschner polished up their old Hooligan boats and put together an awesome float! Dennis and Art are in the duct-tape skull while Tobin manned the plastic barrel on the starboard side of the float to the delight of many(especially the boating crowd in front of Sierra South!). This should stir the creative juices and be plenty of inspiration to build and enter the Hooligan Parade. The Kern River Festival is April 20-21, 2013.

Kern Year-to-Year Snow Sensor Comparision
Adapted from CCSS Snow Sensor Report for February 14, 2013

The first Kern Basin Snow Course measurements were done February 1 and the Kern snowpack was measured at about 86% of normal. The most recent Snow Sensor report from California Cooperative Snow Surveys shows that most Kern snow sensors have recorded some additional snow since February 1. While the pack is currently below normal, we are way ahead of last year. Here's a comparison of this year's snow water equivalents on February 14 to last year.

MODIS Terra 1km Composite Satellite Image
10:30 am & 12:10 pm PST - January 31, 2013 (NASA)

MODIS Terra 1km Composite Satellite Image from January 31, 2013 (NASA). The Kern River trench is the prominent, straight, north-south feature at the south end of the range.

Modeled Snowpack Temperature and Density by Layer
Pascoes - January 7, 2013 - NOHRSC.

This plot of Snow Pack Temperature and Density by Layer for the Pascoes snow sensor in the Kern Basin is one of several plots available for Pascoes and other Sierra locations. It shows the current (modeled) snow depth at about 45 inches with a couple of inches of fresh, cold, low density (10-15%) snow on top of several inches of somewhat denser (15-20%) snow. The pack below that is more compacted and at a density of about 20-25%. The Pascoes snow sensor is reporting about an inch more Snow Water Equivalent than the modeled amount.

Deep Sierra Snow!
Sherman Peak SWFRS Web Cam #1 - December 27, 2012.

Wow, what a GREAT way to start the New Year-- SNOW and lots of it! Back on December 18 California Cooperative Snow Surveys was reporting the South Section Sierra at about 94% of normal for the date. Check out today's report -- 144% of normal!

GFS Forecast Precipitation
For the 8-day period ending 4:00 am December 27, 2012.

Although the Kern River basin hasn't seen as much snow as some Central Sierra stations, our snowpack is in pretty good shape. The Kern basin snow sensors put us ahead of last year and California Cooperative Snow Surveys reports the South Section Sierra is at about 94% of normal for the date. If current medium range model forecasts hold up, we could see the South Section Sierra snowpack pushing 100% by the time Santa makes his rounds Christmas Eve.

AHPS NWS Western Region Observed Precipitation
For the 7-day period ending 4:00 am December 3, 2012.

Over a 5-day period ending Monday morning stations in Northern and Central California recorded double-digit precipitation totals with several stations recording rainfall amounts in excess of 15 inches. The heavy precipitation was related to the formation of a stream-like conveyor belt of tropical moisture called an Atmospheric River. In this case back-to-back Atmospheric River events appear to have been responsible for the large amount of precipitation.

HPC Precipitation Forecast
For 5-day period ending 4:00 am December 4, 2012.

Heavy precipitation, with the possibility of back-to-back Atmospheric River (AR) events, was forecast for Northern & Central California for the 5-day period ending 4:00 am December 4, 2012.over the next few days. The focus of the systems was to the north, but the higher elevations of the Kern River basin did record around 2 inches (snow water equivalent) of precipitation in its northern reaches.

Sierra South Instructor Shannon Finch at the
Jackson Kayak Dealer Summit.

Sierra South Kayak Instructor Shannon Finch had the opportunity to attend the Jackson Dealer Summit in Rock Island Tennessee in October. According to Shannon it was nothing short of a good time. The party kicked off with seminars focusing on outfitting whitewater kayaks, building teams, the impressive line of Jackson fishing kayaks, social media, and general Q&A forums led by Eric Jackson and the Team. Read more...

GFS Forecast Precipitation
For 8-day period ending 4:00 am November 10, 2012.

Not much rain was forecast in the southern half of California at the beginning of November. Temps dipped into the single digits at higher elevation and the Southern Sierra did get a little snow.

Snow on Sherman Peak Tuesday Morning
Sherman Peak SWFRS Web Cam #3 - October 23, 2012.

As forecast, the focus of this week's Pacific storm system was from Mammoth northward. Some Central Sierra snow sensors recorded as much as 4.0-6.0 inches snow water equivalent! The Southern Sierra did see a little snow. It looks like the maximum recorded in the Kern Basin was around 0.7 inch SWE at Tunnel Guard Station.

GFS Forecast Precipitation
For the 5-day Period Ending 5:00 am Thursday, October 25, 2012.

Both the GFS and ECMWF medium range weather models are forecasting wet weather next week, with rain and snow in the Sierra Nevada. At the moment it's looking like the main focus of the storm in the Sierra will be from Mammoth northward, but that could change. (Mammoth got about 18" of snow out of the system.)

Upper Kern River from Sherman Peak
12:00 pm October 11, 2012.

As can be seen in this photo of the Upper Kern from Sherman Peak, an unseasonably cold upper level low is stirring up the weather in California today. Snow showers are forecast at the higher elevations of the Sierra, and even if it's just a dusting, it's great to see storm clouds over the mountains again.

The Climate Prediction Center's Precipitation Outlook for December, January and February, issued August 16, looks very promising for much of California and the Kern River basin. Consensus and model forecasts say El Nino conditions are imminent and likely to last through the remainder of 2012. Perhaps reflecting La Nina like atmospheric conditions (AAM), the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) value for July/August, issued today, dropped to +0.58. This is just below the 'weak' El Niño ranking threshold.