HomeMy WebLinkAbout20051457 Ver 1_USGS streamflow and ground-water conditions in NC through Monday August 13 2012.msg_20120814Strickland, Bev
From:
John C Weaver Dcweaver @usgs.gov]
Sent:
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 11:16 AM
To:
Jackson, Donna
Cc:
Ashley. E.Hatchell @usace. army. miI; brian.cullen @noaa.gov; Brian. Hai nes @ncdenr.gov;
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energy.com; garry_grabow @ncsu.edu; george.mathews @noaa.gov; harold.m.brady @ncdenr.gov;
jamie.kritzer @ncdenr.gov; jcweaver @usgs.gov; Jeff.Orrock @noaa.gov; jim.prevette @ncdenr.gov;
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woody. yonts @ncdenr.gov; Brian Fuchs; Allison.Wash @va.usda.gov; Kathleen Carroll; Darin Figurskey;
Glenn Carrin; Yonts, Woody; wly
Subject:
USGS streamflow and ground -water conditions in NC through Monday, August 13, 2012
NC Drought advisory group,
Precipitation maps showing rainfall totals across North Carolina during the past week (http:/ /water.weather.gov /precip/ or
http : / /www.nc - climate.ncsu.edu /mpe departure) indicate another week of good widespread coverage across the state.
Statewide totals exceeded 0.5 inch with exception of a few very small areas. Higher totals in the range of 2 to 4 inches
are indicated in the central Piedmont (upper Cape Fear, lower Yadkin basins), across part of the northern Coastal Plain,
along the central Outer Banks, and southern coast line.
Streamflow conditions depicted on the real -time streamflow map
(http:Hwaterwatch.usgs.gov / ?m= real &r =nc &w= real %2Cmap) continue to echo the rainfall effects with conditions depicted
in the normal ranges across most of the state with above - normal ranges at some USGS streamgages in the central and
northern Coastal Plain. Areas of below - normal conditions continue to appear on the real -time map in parts of the South
Fork Catawba and lower Catawba River basins as well as parts of the Dan River basin (Roanoke) near the Virginia
border. Inspection of the 28 -day average streamflow map
(http: / /waterwatch. usgs .gov /index.php ?m= pa28d &r =nc &w =map) also continues to indicate the largest concentration of
below - normal conditions in the South Fork Catawba River basin as well parts of the Dan River basin (Roanoke) and upper
Neuse and Tar River basins.
As of August 12 (Sunday), streamflow conditions indicate 8 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 suggests
substantial improvements in overall streamflows relative to 37 percent just a week ago.
Water levels at the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and Sand Hills observations wells in the Climate Response Network in North
Carolina (http://ogwOl.er.usgs.gov/crn/StateMaps/NC.html) are depicted in the above - normal range for 2 wells, normal
range for 3 wells, below normal for 3 wells, much below - normal for the Marston well in Scotland County
(http: // qroundwaterwatch .usgs.gov /AWLSites.asp ?S= 345812079313401 &ncd =crn), and continued record low for the
calendar month at the Chapel Hill well in Orange County.
Water levels at the Coastal Plain observation wells are depicted in "record high for the month" range at the well near
Simpson in Pitt County (http: // qroundwaterwatch .usgs.gov /AWLSites. asp ?S = 353219077153801 &ncd =crn), the above -
normal ranges at 3 wells, and the normal range for 2 wells. Of note, water levels in the Pitt County well are about 5 feet
above the levels noted this time a year ago.
Changes made to the USDM depiction for North Carolina in last week's release included some DO trimming in the
southern mountains along the GA/SC borders as well as partial D1 trimming in the southern Coastal Plain. However, the
DO extent in Mecklenburg County was extended eastward to take in parts of Cabarrus, Stanley, Anson, and eastern Union
Counties.
Given the precipitation and streamflow patterns noted above, the NC drought group may want to consider the following:
(1) Based on 30 -day percent of normal precipitation (PNP) depicted at http : / /water.weather.gov /precip /, some trimming of
the outer DO extents (in the northeastern Piedmont) may be warranted, maintaining DO primarily across Harnett and
Johnston Counties.
(2) Apparently more rainfall occurred in New Hanover County this past week, again bypassing most of Brunswick County
where a small D1 area continues to be depicted. Would suggest "status quo" for this area. However, rainfall coverage in
the range of 2+ inches was noted along the southern coast line and raises the question as to whether removal of DO from
New Hanover up to Carteret County is warranted.
(3) Suggest trimming DO across parts of the Union, Anson, and Stanley Counties based on rainfall coverage this past
week (2+ inches ?) as well as the 30 -day PNP.
(4) Maintaining DO across Alleghany County and removal of DO along the Virginia border in the northern Coastal Plain
appears to be supported by both 7 -day and 30 -day PNP patterns.
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 no changes yet indicated for North Carolina.
Michael Brewer, NIDIS U.S. Drought Portal Manager at
NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, is the USDM author for this week's release. In the email
accompanying draft 1, he made no specific comments concerning North Carolina.
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):
http: / /drought.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 NOAA NWS's Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at
http: / /water.weather.gov /precip/
North Carolina: Current 7 —Day Observed Precipitation
Valid at 8/14/2012 1200 UTC— Created 8/14/12 13:56 UTC
-- 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, August 14, 2012 08 :30ET
WIM
MUSIGS
Last week's conditions...
Tuesday, August 07, 2012 08 :30ET
When viewing the USGS WaterWatch streamflow information, you can hover your cursor over a site and a pop -up box
Explanation - Percentile classes
......,.
Lew X10
1 5 -7 r 6 -90 >
. �
dol- ranked Ajr
m ed u
w __I
,
4OW Ahpvp MUch abO �8l tral . rmal
�
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 (August 14 morning) at some selected gaging stations (obtained from
http : / /waterdata.usgs.gov /nc /nwis /current / ?type =flow ):
Site number
Site name (and County)
Flow Aug 07
Current
flow
(% of)
Median Aug 14
02053200
Potecasi Creek near Union (Hertford) --
14
cfs
446
cfs
3,2000
14 cfs
02106500
Black River near Tomahawk (Sampson) --
183
cfs
202
cfs
640
316 cfs
02085500
Flat River at Bahama (Durham) --
3.2
cfs
11
cfs
690
16 cfs
02096960
Haw River near Bynum (Chatham) --
131
cfs
393
cfs
1760
223 cfs
02115360
Yadkin River at Enon (Yadkin) --
1,190
cfs
1,640
cfs
1150
1,429 cfs
02152100
First Broad River near Casar (Cleveland) --
33
cfs
23
cfs
480
48 cfs
03451500
French Broad River at Asheville (Buncombe) --
1,700
cfs
1,180
cfs
1010
1,170 cfs
03550000
Valley River at Tomotla (Cherokee) --
168
cfs
79
cfs
750
106 cfs
Focusing on the 7-day average flows...
Visit the WaterWatch pages at http: / /waterwatch.usgs.gov /classic / ?r =nc to get the most recent data for sites of interest.
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:
Monday, Rugust 13, 2012
I, SGS
6
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:
Monday, Rugust 13, 2012
As of August 12 (Sunday), the graph of 7 -day flow percentiles shown below indicates 8 percent of sites across North
Carolina have percentiles for 7 -day average flows falling below the 25th percentile for the calendar date. And 1 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 August 05 (Sunday), the current values indicate improvements in overall streamflow conditions during
course of the past week, considering 37% of sites across the state were below the 25th percentile and 8% 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
1
f
Less than 25th percentile
Less than 10th percentile
New min forthe clay
Percentage of sites in North Carolina with 7 -day
indicated percentile range or love
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 August 13 (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
8
M
Previous 7 days
Monday, August 1, 2012
t.
Previous 30 days
Monday, August 1, 2012
MR
g
Explanation
Unregulated
Regulated
No - No Drought ( >30 percentile)
DO - Abnormally Dry (21 to 30 percentile)
D
❑
D1 - Moderate Drought (11 to 20 percentile)
D2 - Severe Drought (6 to 10 percentile)
r
s'
D3 - Extreme Drought (3 to 5 percentile)
D4 - Exceptional Drought (0 to 2 percentile)
n/d - Not determined
❑
0
j 1$
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
El Layers
❑ automated DIVI maps (short string)
t
<all otherxaalues>
10 to 25 percentile increase
25 to 50 percentile decrease
Greater than 50 percentile decrease
Editor — , {., ' , -.al — Creates eeo, Feature
El
ni
Display I Source I Selection I Catalog
Drawing ❑ Trial 1 B 1 U A w
-- Ground Water --
10
5 to 10 percentile increase
B to ,5 percentile increase
9
No percentile change
B to,5 percentile decrease
5 to 10 percentile decrease
10 to 25 percentile decrease
25 to 50 percentile decrease
Greater than 50 percentile decrease
Editor — , {., ' , -.al — Creates eeo, Feature
El
ni
Display I Source I Selection I Catalog
Drawing ❑ Trial 1 B 1 U A w
-- Ground Water --
10
Please visit the North Carolina Real -Time Network page at
http: / /groundwaterwatch. usqs. gov /StateMapsNet.asp ?ncd= rtn &sc =37 (map shown below) for more information on
ground -water conditions at selected USGS observation wells in North Carolina.
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)
11
New
<f
1024
. ..................................... ................................
X25 7 75 9 >0
New
..... . . . . . . . . . . . . ............
Not
Low
Mich Below
Below
--
Normal Above hrluoh Above'
High
Ranked
Normal
Normal
Normal Normal
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)
11
12
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351808082374302
TR -065
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2117,00
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2012 2012
- - -- Provisional Data Subject to Revision - - --
0 Measured depth to
water level — Depth to water level
12
(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)
13
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Sep Now
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— 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)
13
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- - -- Provisional Data Subject to
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to water level
14
(EASTERN l T) Local number WK -284, NCDENR Lake Wheeler Research Station at Raleigh in Wake County
(http: // groundwaterwatch .usgs.gov /AWLSites.asp ?S= 354404078403101 &ncd =rtn)
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(EASTERN l T) Local number WK -284, NCDENR Lake Wheeler Research Station at Raleigh in Wake County
(http: // groundwaterwatch .usgs.gov /AWLSites.asp ?S= 354404078403101 &ncd =rtn)
15
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Daily nininun depth to water level
--Daily nean depth to water level
Period of approved data
Period of provisional data
Lowest recorded water level prior to
MY2911 (27 +89 ft Dec 12, 2998)
(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)
16
17
USES 353219077153801 PI-532 (NC-160) NR IMP ON, NC (SURFICIAL,)
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---- Provisional Data Subject to Revision ----
17
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(NC-160)
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Period
of approved data
Period
of provisional data
— Lowest
recorded water level
prior to
MY2011 (8.97 ft Oct 23,24, 2007)
18