Sooo El Nino and Lake Mead???

[pcrussell50]

I wasn't into boating yet at the time of the last El Nino winter here in Socal, but since I'm into boating now, and have place in Boulder City down near Lake Mead, I've become curious... I have no idea if a big wet winter here in Socal will raise the level at Lake Mead, since isn't it filled primarily by the Colorado River? Seems like maybe a big wet winter in Socal is less important to filling up Mead than a big wet winter in the Rockies would be? But I don't really know all the complexities and subtleties about how and why Mead fills and drains.

-Peter

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

2FF and Racey to the white courtesy phone........LOL. Here we go!

[emoji23]

 

[HOOTER SLED-]

LOL...."I was there at the dock and the guy in the suit said so". :rotflmao::rotflmao:

 

[Ragged Edge]

Typically a good El Nino year also means a good snow pack in the Rockies and a lot of water flowing down the Colorado. We can hope that it helps fill Mead back up but the suits in charge will probably find some reason to lower the level again anyway. :rolleyes

 

[pcrussell50]

2FF and Racey to the white courtesy phone........LOL. Here we go!

[emoji23]

LOL...."I was there at the dock and the guy in the suit said so". :rotflmao::rotflmao:

???

One day I hope to be enough of an insider or experienced enough boater around here to get it, but for now, those two quotes are completely over my head.

-Peter

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

???

One day I hope to be enough of an insider or experienced enough boater around here to get it, but for now, those two quotes are completely over my head.

-Peter

Sorry Peter. There was a lengthy thread a couple weeks back that talked about the water levels at Mead in which 2 "experts" with completely different opinions on the matter, squared off.

I think that EL Nino will only impact levels of Mead if the Rockies get a good snow pack this year, which they have been without for awhile.

 

[bk2drvr]

Rain in SoCal has no affect on the Lake Mead or Lake Powell water levels. Lake Mead water level is almost completely dependent on the snowpack in the Rocky Mountains and the spring run-off. Think of snow pack as water storage that has to run off in spring and that runoff is what fills Mead and Powell. There are some other small factors but snowpack is the primary factor. The Colorado River is fed by several very large watersheds in the Rocky mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. The Colorado is a massive river we have just mellowed it out with all the dams. Lake Mead and Powell are the largest reservoirs in the unites states to put some perspective on their scale.

We had a unique El Ni?o weather condition in 1983 that nearly took Glenn Canyon dam out at lake Powell. If you are really interested in what the affects can be on Lake Mead water level just google "lake Mead 1983" and start reading. Also if you go to wiki and search Lake Mead and Lake Powell there is an excellent write up on what happen in 1983 and this should answer your questions.

Bottom line...In order for Mead and Powell to start rising we need a lot of snow pack in the Rockies this year.

 

[spectracular]

2FF and Racey to the white courtesy phone........LOL. Here we go!

[emoji23]

Hey...there is no get your popcorn smilie?

 

[pcrussell50]

Sorry Peter. There was a lengthy thread a couple weeks back that talked about the water levels at Mead in which 2 "experts" with completely different opinions on the matter, squared off.

I think that EL Nino will only impact levels of Mead if the Rockies get a good snow pack this year, which they have been without for awhile.

No worries mate. I'll go look for that thread and give it a read. I'm sure most of my curiosity will be wrapped up in it. Is it in this RD's Lounge forum?

-Peter

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

No worries mate. I'll go look for that thread and give it a read. I'm sure most of my curiosity will be wrapped up in it. Is it in this RD's Lounge forum?

-Peter

Try using the search feature on the right hand side and it will pull up a lot of results but you should be able to find what you are looking for.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

in order for mead to rise.... they have to stop trying to lower it..... water authority wants it close to where it is.... there is still around 500 miles of shore line and about 400' deep....

cool thing is it's easy to be king of the hill there as the big fast boat go to the channel and pirates cove:rolleyes

 

[pcrussell50]

Rain in SoCal has no affect on the Lake Mead or Lake Powell water levels. snip...

Bottom line...In order for Mead and Powell to start rising we need a lot of snow pack in the Rockies this year.

thanks, that's kind of what i guessed in my first post, but i didn't just want to assume so.

-peter

 

[Ziggy]

thanks, that's kind of what i guessed in my first post, but i didn't just want to assume so.

-peter

Yeah, run off from rain into the lake is not its real source. Snow pack on the "Western" Rockies is the lakes true lifeline. Big snow in Denver does nothing for us.