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Monday, March 13, 2023

Cisco Sonar by Bryce Nielson

 

Spring Flooding in Rich County

 

We are all sick and tired of the snow, cold and constant winter.  There is nothing we can do about it except bear it.  It started to warm up this week and people are thinking about flooding and sandbagging.  Mayor Leonhardt pushed a message out of Facebook on Friday letting everyone know that there sandbags and sand available for the public to fill for themselves.  Garden City is also planning to have a day for filling sandbags to put on pallets and store in the City’s public works building for immediate emergency response.  Preparation is the key to a successful response. 

 

This will be my 49th spring at Bear Lake.  I have seen many flooding scenarios play out.  The valley is unique with weather patterns that are a direct result of Bear Lake.  When they are planting flowers and mowing lawns along the Wasatch Front we will still be in winter.  Snow will continue with cold temperatures mixed with periods of rain.  When warm air comes, most of it is reflected and cooled by the huge expanses of white, snow. The elephant in the room, of course, is the big, block of ice covering the lake.   I have seen that persist into May.  I always thought ice melted from the heat of the surrounding air.  After years of watching it, I have finally decided that the lake ice melts from the bottom up.  Once the Bear River starts to melt, the floodwaters are diverted into the lake.  The water temperature is higher and the interface of warm water and ice results in melting. The elevation of the lake increases creates areas of open water along and edges and wind then begins to move it around.  The ice will turn blue gray, break into huge icebergs and then one morning it will be gone.   Bear Lake’s two week, muddy, spring the arrives.  It will then be summer.

 

I wish I knew when all of this will take place so we could prepare, but I don’t.  It all depends on the weather.  There will be more flooding than we have seen for years, so prepare, take care and be safe.

 

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