The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About20051457 Ver 1_USGS streamflow and ground-water conditions in NC through Monday April 25 2.msg_20110426Strickland, Bev From: John C Weaver Dcweaver @usgs.gov] Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 10:59 AM To: Yonts, Woody Cc: Ashley. E.Hatchell @usace. army. miI; brian.cullen @noaa.gov; Haines, Brian; Lane, David; Owen, Debra; eric.seymour @noaa.gov; gagalleh @duke- energy.comI garry_grabow @ncsu.edu; george.mathews @noaa.gov; Brady, Harold M.; Kritzer, Jamie; jcweaver @usgs.gov; Jeff.Orrock @noaa.gov; Prevette, Jim; Hoffmann, Jucilene; Lara.Pagano @noaa.gov; Peele, Linwood; Michael .A.Young @saw02.usace. army. miI; michael.moneypenny @noaa.gov; Orbon, Mike; Sarwar, Neelufa; Patricia. Tanner @noaa.gov; Peter. Corrigan @noaa.gov; richard.neuherz @noaa.gov; rwall @ncem.org; ryan_boyles @ncsu.edu; Young, Sarah; todd.hamill @noaa.gov; Fransen, Tom; Reeder, Tom; tony_dorn @nass.usda.gov; Lawrence, Torey; Cox, Vernon N; Munden, Wayne; Yonts, Woody; Brian Fuchs; Allison.Wash @va.usda.gov Subject: USGS streamflow and ground -water conditions in NC through Monday, April 25 NC Drought advisory group, Rainfall coverage over most of North Carolina during the past week did not produce high amounts, with much of the state having received less than 0.5 inch (http:/ /www.nc - climate.ncsu.edu /mpe departure /). With less than normal rainfall during the past week, inspection of the real -time streamflow map currently indicates a return towards below - normal streamflow conditions across parts of eastern North Carolina. West of a line running from Gaston County northeast through Guilford County, streamflow conditions "at the moment" are mostly depicted in normal range with small number of sites in the southern mountains near the border with Georgia in the above - normal ranges (http: / /waterwatch.usgs.gov/ new / ?m= real &r =nc &w= real %2Cmap). East of the same line, streamflows are a mix of normal and below - normal conditions, with the below - normal conditions becoming more visibly widespread in the absence of sustained and beneficial rainfall amounts. As of April 24 (Sunday), streamflow conditions indicate 16 percent of sites across North Carolina have percentiles for 7- day average flows falling below the 25th percentile for the calendar date (see graph below). This percentage indicates deterioration in overall streamflow relative to 9 percent just a week ago. Groundwater conditions are depicted with levels in the normal (5), much above normal (1), below normal (3), and much below normal (1) ranges for the 10 observation Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and Sand Hills wells within the NC Climate Response network (http://ogwOl.er.usgs.gov/crn/StateMaps/NC.html). Water levels at the six Coastal Plain observation wells within the same network are currently depicted in the normal range for 2 wells, below - normal range for 3 wells, and record low for April at the Comfort well in Jones County (http: / /groundwaterwatch. usgs.gov /AWLSites. asp ?S = 345809077301408 &ncd =crn). Draft 1 for this week's release was available Monday afternoon with very slight changes to the western DO extent across Mecklenburg County. No other changes were yet indicated for North Carolina. Changes made last week were a reduction of D1 across the northeast Piedmont and northern Coastal Plain. With the absence of sustained and beneficial rainfall amounts during the past week, the most noticeable result is a more widespread distribution of below - normal streamflows in the eastern part of North Carolina. It's a pattern where everything looks good "on the surface," but conditions still indicate a dryness that continues to persist underneath. While conditions do not appear to support any further improvements for this week's release, the shift towards below - normal conditions may not quite justify any deterioration for this week's release. It would be my recommendation that the NC group consider Draft 1, which is pretty much status quo across the state with exception of southern Mecklenburg County. Comments and opinions welcome... Thanks. JCWeaver ****************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** J. Curtis Weaver, Hydrologist, PE USGS North Carolina Water Science Center 3916 Sunset Ridge Road Raleigh, NC 27607 Phone: (919) 571 -4043 H Fax: (919) 571 -4041 Mobile: (919) 830 -6235 E -mail address -- jcweaver @usgs.gov Internet address --.http://nc.water.usgs.gov ****************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** -- USDM draft (if available) -- As of Monday afternoon, draft 1 for this week's version was available with very slight changes (in Mecklenburg County) indicated for North Carolina. Michael Brewer, NIDIS U.S. Drought Portal Manager at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, is again the USDM author for this week's release. In the email accompanying draft 1, he made no specific comments North Carolina, but indicated the draft 1 changes for Virginia and South Carolina: VA - pulled DO back in the NW extent SC - pulled Dl back in SC and trimmed DO western border which spilled into Gaston County NC USDM archive (you can select North Carolina from the drop -down box near the top, a quick way to see the last two USDM releases): htto:H drouaht.unl.edu /dm /archive.html -- Observed precipitation -- Sources of precipitation totals are available from the following: (1) USGS rainfall totals (sorted by county) for the last 7 days at http : / /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /current ?tvpe = precip &group kev= county cd (2) State Climate Office of North Carolina at http : / /www.nc - climate.ncsu.edu /mpe departure/ (3) NOAA NWS's Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at http://water.weather.gov/preci shown below pulled from the State Climate Office of North Carolina at http: / /www.nc- climate.ncsu.edu /mpe departure/ ncsu.edu File Edit View Favorites Tools Help x convert select -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- x --------------------------------------------------------------- search hare • Check T Favorites Free Hotmail C Customize Links Windows Windows Marketplace Windows Media USGS Real-Time Data for ... internal Home - USGS NC... USGS WaterWatch -- Str ... AHP5 Precipitation Analysis 101 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State Climate Office of North Carolina There are possible errors associated with these radar-based precipitation estimates.. This product is in beta.. Select Layers: Precipitation: G, Estimate 0 Difference from normal (?-) Percent of normal (F) Geographic: R County lines El Cities El Rivers and Streams El HUC-6 El HUC-8 El Highways Internal users login -- Streamflow -- Current conditions are depicted as real -time, 7 -day, 14 -day, and 28 -day flows available in the WaterWatch series of maps at: http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/classic/?m=real&r=nc&w=real%2Cmap Current conditions... Tuesday, April 26, 2011 09 :30ET Last week's conditions... Monday, April 18, 2011 20 :30ET WIM MUSIGS When viewing the USGS WaterWatch streamflow information, you can hover your cursor over a site and a pop -up box appears with various pieces of information, including the percentile for the current streamflow AND the current percentage of mean and median for the calendar date. Highlighting current flows (April 26 morning) at some selected gaging stations (obtained from http : / /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /current / ?type =flow ): Site number S Explanation - Percentile classes Flow Apr 18 C ......,. flow (% of) M Lo X10 10-2-4--'j 2� r6 -90 > � - �: Hi Idol- ranked I I` N� bed s � w I e -Owl P trr� al Ah,,we % asU) a, , mar€ -- normal When viewing the USGS WaterWatch streamflow information, you can hover your cursor over a site and a pop -up box appears with various pieces of information, including the percentile for the current streamflow AND the current percentage of mean and median for the calendar date. Highlighting current flows (April 26 morning) at some selected gaging stations (obtained from http : / /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /current / ?type =flow ): Site number S Site name (and County) F Flow Apr 18 C Current f flow (% of) M Median Apr 26 02053200 P Potecasi Creek near Union (Hertford) -- 9 93 c cfs 4 47 c cfs 550 8 85 cfs 02106500 B Black River near Tomahawk (Sampson) -- 4 436 c cfs 3 314 c cfs 690 4 454 cfs 02085500 F Flat River at Bahama (Durham) -- 8 87 c cfs 4 41 c cfs 51% 8 80 cfs 02096960 H Haw River near Bynum (Chatham) -- 2 2,210 c cfs 5 554 c cfs 840 6 656 cfs 02115360 Y Yadkin River at Enon (Yadkin) -- 4 4,030 c cfs 2 2,220 c cfs 940 2 2,370 cfs 02152100 F First Broad River near Casar (Cleveland) -- 1 115 c cfs 6 63 c cfs 750 8 84 cfs 03451500 F French Broad River at Asheville (Buncombe) -- 7 7,100 c cfs 2 2,560 c cfs 1200 2 2,130 cfs 03550000 V Valley River at Tomotla (Cherokee) -- 5 585 c cfs 2 289 c cfs 1050 2 275 cfs 4Mllllll Visit the WaterWatch pages at http: / /waterwatch.usgs.gov /classic / ?r =nc to get the most recent data for sites of interest. 6 Durations plots for selected individual USGS stations can be accessed at http: / /nc.water.usgs.gov /drought /duration.html The OVERALL 7 -day average flows by HUC map (http:Hwaterwatch.usgs.gov /classic / ?m= pa07d &r= nc &w =pa07d nwc %2Cmap) are depicted in the image below: Sunday, April 24, 2011 To help provide more detail by major basin, the BELOW NORMAL 7 -day average flows by HUC map (http: / /waterwatch.usgs.gov /classic /index.php ?map type =drvw &state =nc) are depicted in the image below: Sunday, April 24, 2011 As of April 25 (Sunday), the graph of 7 -day flow percentiles shown below indicates 16 percent of sites across North Carolina have percentiles for 7 -day average flows falling below the 25th percentile for the calendar date. And 2 percent of sites across North Carolina are shown as having 7 -day average flows below the 10th percentile or reaching new minimum for calendar date. Compared to April 17 (Sunday), the current values indicate minor deterioration in overall streamflow conditions during course of the past week, considering 9% of sites across the state were below the 25th percentile and 2% of sites were below 10th percentile and /or reaching new minimum for the calendar date. Below is a graph developed from the 7 -day average flow summary table available at: http: / /waterwater.usgs.gov/ classic / ?m= pa07d &r= nc &w= paO7d %2Ctable i i ii Less than 25th percentile Percentage of sites in North Carolina with 7 -day t Less than 10th percentile indicated percentile range or lowe New min forthe day September JIuly2010 August 2010 o- December Janue 2010 Date Another measure of the streamflow conditions is available from maps of median percentiles for 7 -day average flows for the previous 7 -, 14- 30 -, 60 -, and 90 -day periods updated through April 25 (Monday). These maps are intended to provide some kind of "long- term" index of the streamflow conditions (not available through the USGS WaterWatch pages) that is mapped according to the classification scheme for streamflow used by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Map images (via the above URL) showing the median percentiles for 7 -day average flows for previous 7 and 30 days are shown below. http: / /nc. water. usgs .gov /drought/dm- streamflow.html 0 L L Explanation No - No Drought ( >30 percentile) DO - Abnormally Dry (21 to 30 percentile) D1 - Moderate Drought (11 to 20 percentile) D2 - Severe Drought (6 to 10 percentile) D3 - Extreme Drought (3 to 5 percentile) D4 - Exceptional Drought (0 to 2 percentile) n/d - Not determined Unregulated Regulated 6 IM 0 ❑ 0 Em IF E a IM 10 The following ArcMap screenshot shows the change in the median percentiles of 7 -day average flows for 7 -day period from last week (with last week's U.S. Drought Monitor in the background). In other words, at a given site, take last week's median percentile and compare it to this week's median percentile. Sites in red indicate a decrease in the median percentile from last week to this week (suggesting a decline in streamflow). Sites in blue indicate an increase in the median percentile from last week to this week (suggesting an improvement decline in streamflow). The size of the circles indicates the general range in percentile increase or decrease (note legend to left of the map). File Edit View Bookmarks Insert Selection Tools Window Help �n ♦ [1-.3,852,339 °_ it it ]I 5 li 7i xy n s ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,; X -!, Layers -; ❑ Automated DM maps (short string) ® <all other values> Weekly_c_i n1d Greater than 50 percentile increase 25 to 50 percentile increase Display I Source j Selection l rr �' ❑ 4' Anal _ ,10 l B LT _ • Drawing Ground Water -- Please visit the Climate Response Network page at http: / /groundwaterwatch. usqs. gov /StateMapsNet.asp ?ncd= crn &sc =37 (map shown below) for more information on 11 10 to 25 percentile increase 5 to 10 percentile increase 0 to 5 percentile increase 0 No percentile change 0 to 5 percentile decrease 5 to 10 percentile decrease 10 to 25 percentile decrease 25 to 50 percentile decrease Greater than 50 percentile decrease Display I Source j Selection l rr �' ❑ 4' Anal _ ,10 l B LT _ • Drawing Ground Water -- Please visit the Climate Response Network page at http: / /groundwaterwatch. usqs. gov /StateMapsNet.asp ?ncd= crn &sc =37 (map shown below) for more information on 11 ground -water conditions at selected USGS observation wells in North Carolina. ti!VES' VIRGINIA unto � �h�rl4ite�u �.,, , 17 " Warsaw ok 'Logan Oakes, k into V ,� ',� Ta +ppa�i�a ck Atlantic Bedtle aI d'a ° u „Yckir�hamo ° ¢White !tone Beach Welo Unio L' bUY 60 Cp nial High` Eash ills Explanation - Percentile class �. ......ee __ New <10 1024 25-75 75-90 >90 New Not el' ..... — - ..... .d. Low hrluch Below Below Plortnal love lvlu h Dove' High Ranked Shown below are the hydrographs at four selected wells across North Carolina... real -time page for USGS ground water data in NC is available at http: / /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /current ?tvpe =qw (MOUNTAINS) NC -144 at Blantyre in Transylvania County (http: / /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /dv / ?site no= 351808082374302 &agency cd =USGS &referred module =sw) 12 13 USGS 351808082374302 TR-065 (NC-144) AT BLANTYRE, NC (REGOLITH) 27.00 2120.00 41 a CU CU Q. 3 27.50 2119.50 28.00 4J 2119.00 0 z 28.50 2118.50 0 5 L m (U 29.00 2118.0 0 cu L (U 4J D to 29.50 2117.50 L CU 4J m 4J 30.00 2117.00 C CL 30 .50 L 0 Apr Apr Apr Apr 02 09 16 23 2011 2011 2011 2011 ---- Provisional Data Subject to Revision ---- 13 (WESTERN PIEDMONT) NC -193, Piedmont RS near Barber in Rowan County (http: / /waterdata .usgs.gov /nc /nwis /dv / ?dd cd =01 72019 00003 &format =imq default &site no= 354057080362601 &set to qscale v =0 &begin date = 20070319) 14 USGS 351808082374302 TR -Q 5 (SIC -144) AT BLANTYRE, H (RE OLITH) 2124 +9 0 Q 24 +$ Q. 4} 2122 +9 S N 26 +$ p } L) 2129 +9 ID Z 0 5 L Q ic 2118 +9 + ..l 9 +9 cu D 2116 +$ C6 cu o S2 +$ P M 2114 +$ r- N G4 +0 L May Jul Sep Now Jan Mar 2919 2919 2919 2919 2911 2911 — Daily nean depth to water level Period of provisional data Period of approved data (WESTERN PIEDMONT) NC -193, Piedmont RS near Barber in Rowan County (http: / /waterdata .usgs.gov /nc /nwis /dv / ?dd cd =01 72019 00003 &format =imq default &site no= 354057080362601 &set to qscale v =0 &begin date = 20070319) 14 15 �GS 35405 0803 01 RO-149 (NC-193) PIEDMONT RS 1 NR BARBER (REGOLIT 4J 7.00 67:1.00 4J 7.20 670.80 0 z 7.40 670.60 (U L m L 4J 7.60 670.40 L m CL 7.80 670.20 r- L Apr Apr Apr Apr 02 09 16 23 2011 2011 2011 2011 ---- Provisional Data Subject to Revision ---- 15 (EASTERN PIEDMONT) NC -126 at Chapel Hill in Orange County ( http:/ /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /dv/ ?site no= 355522079043001 &agency cd =USGS &referred module =sw) 3540570803 01 R! -149 (SIC -193) PIEDMONT RS 1 NR BARBER (RE OLI a 673.9 1 5 +0 OR -0 (NC-126) AT !CHAPEL 0 H (RE OLITH) 45.20 CU .0 5 +5 672.5 Q. 4 GF 41 4. 6 +0 672.9 OJ r4 _ 466.25 D 8 6 +5 671.5 x Q0 7 +9 671.9 0 466.29 2 7 +5 679.5 z ay 45.35 G� 4J 8.0 679.9 r-I L C6 Q Gi +} G 8.5 45.49 669.5 m -J H 466.19 m r 0 a 9 +0 669.9 L May Jul Sep Now Jan Mar +0 45.45 2919 2919 2919 2919 2911 2911 466.95 — Daily nean depth to water level Period of provisional data � Period of approved data (EASTERN PIEDMONT) NC -126 at Chapel Hill in Orange County ( http:/ /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /dv/ ?site no= 355522079043001 &agency cd =USGS &referred module =sw) 16 USGS 3 52207 043001 OR -0 (NC-126) AT !CHAPEL HILL, H (RE OLITH) 45.20 466.39 45.25 _ 466.25 cy 45 +39 466.29 z 45.35 466.15 Ly L y 45.49 466.19 m L GU +0 45.45 466.95 � L 45.59 466.99 4ti mm L � C CL p 45.55 465.95 OL C7 Apr Apr Apr Apr 92 99 16 23 2911 2911 2911 2911 - - -- Provisional Data Subject to Revision - - -- 16 (COASTAL PLAIN) NC -160 near Simpson in Pitt County ( http:/ /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /dv/ ?site no= 353219077153801 &agency cd =USGS &referred module =sw) 17 USGS 355522079043001 OR -0 (NC -126) AT !CHAPEL HILL, H (RE OLITH) a 40.0 m Q 471.0 Q. 41.E S �« 470.0 S d Qy 42.9 L7 469.0 y 43.9 0 r 468.6 to }°, r 1 44.8 c} y -W 467.$ L C6 Gi 0 45. P J 466.$ M r H 0 CE 46 +6 L May Jul Sep Now Jan Mar 2919 2919 2919 2919 2911 2911 — Daily nean depth to water level Period of provisional data Period of approved data (COASTAL PLAIN) NC -160 near Simpson in Pitt County ( http:/ /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /dv/ ?site no= 353219077153801 &agency cd =USGS &referred module =sw) 17 18 USGS 35 1907 53 01 PI-532 (NC-160) NR IMP ON, NC (SURFICIAL) 2.00 C 54.00 CU 2.50 53.50 m 3.00 z 53.00 (U L ,-I = m 3.50 CU L (U 4J D 0 to 52.50 4.00 L CU 4J 4 m CL 52.00 L 4.50 0 Apr Apr Apr Apr 02 09 16 23 2011 2011 2011 2011 ---- Provisional Data Subject to Revision ---- 18 19 USGS 35 1907 53 01 PI -532 (NC-160) NR SIMPSON, NC (SURFICIAL) O 4ti 1 +$ 5555 +9 Q- 2 ry �y .0 S 54 +$ 41 o% 3 +0 +0 +0 �} 0 55 +0 51 0 +} +$ i a 6 +9 59 +$ }y 7 m +9 49 +9 L C6 8 Gi P p +9 48 +9 s 9 H o +$ May Jul Sep Now Jan Mar C 2919 2919 2919 2919 2911 2911 0 — Daily nean depth to water level Period of approved data Period of provisional data — Lowest recorded water level prior to MY2911 (8 +97 ft Oct 23,24, 2997) 19