To put it in perspective, yearly graph shows the flow was even higher than last spring's runoff. Not flood stage, but just remarkable in that it reached that level in a matter of hours instead of over several weeks. Never underestimate the power of a river.
And today, receding back almost as fast as it went up.
Unlike
the Columbia River, which has numerous dams for flood control and hydropower, the Methow River does not have major flood control dams. Historically, levees were constructed to protect farmland and towns, but these confine the river to a channel and block fish.
Methow Salmon Recovery is working with landowners (which can be a tough sell) to remove or modify these old levees. This allows the river to access
its natural floodplain during high flows, which slows the water and
reduces flood damage downstream, while benefiting salmon habitat. Makes sense, but only time will tell.
Anyway, long story short we dodged a bullet. If the warm atmospheric river came in the spring on heavy mountain snow pack, it would be a different situation along the Methow and other eastern Washington rivers.
The weekend is here after a week of unrelenting rain and bad news. The Northwest is drying out for a few days and people can start to assess the damage.
Have a good one-- Christmas is closing in fast.
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