River Notes Archive

River Notes for Wednesday, May 31, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

After seven consecutive days (May 23-29) of flows above 3000 cfs and a peak of 8.24 ft. and 3462 cfs on May 25, Upper Kern flows are now in the 2K range. The current release to the Lower Kern at Borel is about 1100 cfs. Yesterday, the high temperature at the Kernville Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) was 86 degrees, but should be back into the nineties tomorrow, with warming temps through the weekend.

Curious about how all the new kayaks perform? Then head for Kernville this weekend for our Free Kayak Demo Weekend. We'll have all of the hot new whitewater and touring/recreational kayaks available for you to check out. It's a great opportunity to try the new boats on the water, and Sierra South staff will be on hand to answer all your questions.

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info. (SCE reports that flow phone data is updated twice daily. For current information call 877-537-6356 or 760-376-8821.)

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

River Notes for Friday, May 26, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

There must have been a lot of snow in the Kern River basin above 10,000 ft. this year! Despite a dwindling snowpack and cooler temperatures the Kern basin continues to crank out the water, with flows pushing above 3000 cfs for a fourth day.

Yesterday, the COE gage at Kernville peaked at 8.24 ft. at 10:00 in the morning with a (preliminary) flow of 3462 cfs. This exceeded Wednesday's peak of 8.23 ft. and 3444 cfs. This morning at 7:00 the COE gage at Kernville reported a flow of 3156 cfs, but today's flows will probably stay below yesterday's peak.

On Thursday the high temperature at the Kernville RAWS was a "cool" 88 degrees. Temps are expected to be in the mid to high eighties again today, and in the nineties over the Memorial Day weekend.

With the release to the Lower at Borel increased to about 1080 cfs, virtually all reaches of the Upper Kern and Lower Kern should have boatable flows this weekend, including the Kern below Democrat.

Today's Kern River RiverPhoto is of Crossroads Middle School of Santa Monica, California, during a week of river adventure on the Wild & Scenic Kern River. Forty students enjoyed learning how to kayak, raft, inflatable kayak, camp, & cook.

If you or your school or company is interested in special trips such as these, please check our Kern River Summer Camp for Kids or Custom Group Programs. You can also give us a call at 1-800-457-2082.

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info. (SCE reports that flow phone data is updated twice daily. For current information call 877-537-6356 or 760-376-8821.)

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

River Notes for Thursday, May 25, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

Yesterday, the COE gage at Kernville peaked at 8.23 ft. at noon with a (preliminary) flow of 3444 cfs. This exceeded the May 10 peak of 8.06 ft. and 3138 cfs. Yesterday's high temperature at the Kernville RAWS was 98 degrees, and apparently there was still enough snow at the high elevations to keep today's flow at a surprisingly high level. This morning at 6:00 the COE gage at Kernville was already reporting a flow of 3264 cfs, so there is a chance that yesterday's peak of 3444 cfs will be surpassed.

Temperatures are forecast to be about 10-15 degrees cooler today, and this morning the temp reported by the Kernville RAWS is about 5 degrees cooler than yesterday. The current outlook for the Memorial Day holiday weekend is for mostly clear skies and temperatures in the nineties.

With the release to the Lower at Borel increased to 1049 cfs, virtually all reaches of the Upper Kern and Lower Kern should have boatable flows this weekend, including the Kern below Democrat.

Today's Kern River RiverPhoto is of Crossroads Middle School of Santa Monica, California, during a week of river adventure on the Wild & Scenic Kern River. Forty students enjoyed learning how to kayak, raft, inflatable kayak, camp, & cook.

If you or your school or company is interested in special trips such as these, please check our Kern River Summer Camp for Kids or Custom Group Programs. You can also give us a call at 1-800-457-2082.

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info. (SCE reports that flow phone data is updated twice daily. For current information call 877-537-6356 or 760-376-8821.)

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

River Notes for Wednesday, May 24, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

At 7:00 this morning the COE gage at Kernville recorded a stage value of 8.09 ft. and (preliminary) flow of 3191 cfs. This exceeds the earlier May 10 peak of 8.06 ft. and 3138 cfs. Maximum daily flows have generally been occurring in the early afternoon, so look fora higher water later today.

The flow reported by the COE gage may be understated. This morning the SCE flow phone reported a flow of 3411 cfs above Fairview. In addition, COE values for daily average flow into Isabella appear to have been exceeding the daily average flow reported by the gage in Kernville.

Temps appear to be a couple degrees cooler so far today, and are forecast to be about 10 degrees cooler Thursday, so whatever peak the river reaches today will likely be the snowmelt seasonal peak. The current outlook for the Memorial Day holiday weekend is for temperatures in the nineties, perhaps reaching triple digits again by Sunday.

A upper level low spinning off the coast resulted in some thunderstorm development yesterday, and a chance of thunderstorms is in the forecast today, mainly over the higher mountains.

Today's Kern River RiverPhoto is of Crossroads Middle School of Santa Monica, California, during a week of river adventure on the Wild & Scenic Kern River. Forty students enjoyed learning how to kayak, raft, inflatable kayak, camp, & cook.

If you or your school or company is interested in special trips such as these, please check our Kern River Summer Camp for Kids or Custom Group Programs. You can also give us a call at 1-800-457-2082.

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info. (SCE reports that flow phone data is updated twice daily. For current information call 877-537-6356 or 760-376-8821.)

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

River Notes for Thursday, May 18, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

Summer-like weather returns to the Kern! Following an unseasonable couple of days with cool temps and snow in the mountains, the Kern Valley should see temps in the low eighties today, high eighties Friday, and up into the nineties this weekend. Triple digit highs are a possibility by Sunday or Monday.

Based on snow sensor data, temperatures, and flow data recorded last year at this time, if temperature forecasts for the next week prove accurate, there could be enough high elevation snow to produce another river peak above 2500 cfs next week. Snow sensors suggest there is more high elevation snow than last year, and temperatures are forecast to be warmer than last year. In any case, look for flows to be going up over the next few days!

Today's Kern River RiverPhoto is of Crossroads Middle School of Santa Monica, California, during a week of river adventure on the Wild & Scenic Kern River. Forty students enjoyed learning how to kayak, raft, inflatable kayak, camp, & cook.

If you or your school or company is interested in special trips such as these, please check our Kern River Summer Camp for Kids or Custom Group Programs. You can also give us a call at 1-800-457-2082.

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info. (SCE reports that flow phone data is updated twice daily. For current information call 877-537-6356 or 760-376-8821.)

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

River Notes for Tuesday, May 16, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

Higher elevations of the Kern River basin appear to have received about 0.6 inch or so of snow water equivalent overnight. The Kernville RAWS recorded about a tenth of an inch of rain, and Johnsondale about four-tenths of an inch. It's cool today, but temperatures are expected to rebound quickly with HPC forecasts suggesting high temps will be back into the eighties or nineties for the weekend.

Today's Kern River RiverPhoto is of Crossroads Middle School of Santa Monica, California, during a week of river adventure on the Wild & Scenic Kern River. Forty students enjoyed learning how to kayak, raft, inflatable kayak, camp, & cook.

If you or your school or company is interested in special trips such as these, please check our Kern River Summer Camp for Kids or Custom Group Programs. You can also give us a call at 1-800-457-2082.

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info. (SCE reports that flow phone data is updated twice daily. For current information call 877-537-6356 or 760-376-8821.)

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

River Notes for Tuesday, May 9, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

On Saturday morning, May 6, at 9:00 A.M., Rocky Contos and Preston Holmes put-in at the Forks of the Kern for a pleasant day of paddling. Seven hours and 36 miles, and innumerable class II, III, IV, and V rapids later they pulled into an eddy at Riverside Park, and still had time to demo some playboats!

Boaters surfed, squirted, spinned, splated 'till they couldn't lift there paddles at the Free Kayak Demo Weekend. The next Free Demo Weekend is scheduled for June 3rd, with another to follow July 1st.

Based on Averaged Daily Flows from the COE, the Kern at Kernville gage may still be reading a little high.

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info. (SCE reports that flow phone data is updated twice daily. For current information call 877-537-6356 or 760-376-8821.)

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

River Notes for Thursday, May 4, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

The flow data reported by the COE for the Kern at Kernville is preliminary and subject to adjustment. Earlier today it appeared the Upper Kern broke 3000 cfs, but since then the output from the gage has been adjusted to correlate better with the inflow into Lake Isabella. Instead of the 3000 cfs reported earlier, the flow at noon is now listed at 2558 cfs. The actual inflow into Lake Isabella for the period 5/3 to 5/7 looks like it will be a little higher than the maximum volume forecast for the period in the Short Term Snowmelt Forecast.

As part of the relicensing process for the Kern River No. 1 Hydroelectric Project, Southern California Edison (SCE), at the request of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), has established a toll-free, automated Kern River Flow Phone. The number is 877-537-6356.

The flow phone is reportedly updated twice a day. In addition to flows transcribed from COE data, the flow phone lists flows previously not available to the public, including the flow above and below the Fairview Diversion, and below Democrat Dam. These flows have been added to our Rivernotes Flow Table. In addition, SCE has installed a new staff gage on the Lower Kern, below Democrat Dam, near the Lucas Creek parking area.

Curious about how all the new kayaks perform? Then head for Kernville this weekend for our Free Kayak Demo Weekend. We'll have all of the hot new whitewater, touring and recreational kayaks available for you to check out. It's a great opportunity to try the new boats on the water, and Sierra South staff will be on hand to answer all your questions.

See the new playboats in action... Check out the Kern Festival 2000 Rodeo Photos. (Slalom and Downriver photos are in the works.)

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info. (Data from SCE flow phone may not be current.)

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

River Notes for Tuesday, May 2, 2000

Important information about River Notes.

Many thanks to the Forest Service, the Owens Boys Camp, and all the volunteers that came out to help with clearing brush from Miracle Hot Springs and Hobo Campground to help prepare the site for the 2000 U.S. National Slalom and Wildwater Championships. This event will be held August 18-20, and will be the last chance to see our Olympians in action prior to the Olympics.

Curious about how all the new kayaks perform? Then head for Kernville this weekend for our Free Kayak Demo Weekend. We'll have all of the hot new whitewater, touring and recreational kayaks available for you to check out. It's a great opportunity to try the new boats on the water, and Sierra South staff will be on hand to answer all your questions.

See the new playboats in action... Check out the Kern Festival 2000 Rodeo Photos. (Slalom and Downriver photos are in the works.)

The Upper Kern hit 2219 cfs at noon today. This is at about the maximum forecast for this date in the Short Term Snowmelt Forecast produced by the N.W.S. California-Nevada River Forecast Center and the California Department of Water Resources. Their April 26th prediction was for a peak of about 2700 cfs, around May 24th.

Here is a snapshot of today's flow and reservoir data. Click on "Current" to get the latest info.

More information concerning flow and weather can be found on our LINKS page.

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