Widespread precipitation is expected across the Northwest and northern Rockies through Monday, including heavy mountain snow for parts of the region. A powerful storm is expected to bring periods of heavy rain, gusty winds, and the potential for severe thunderstorms throughout the southern to central Plains between tonight and Monday. Read More >
TO: Subscribers: Emergency Management Officials…News Media…and Other Users
SUBJECT: New River Forecast Point: Kernville, Kern County
The National Weather Service (NWS) Hanford (HNX) office has created a new river forecast point for the Kern River in Kern County. In August of 2023, the NWS Hanford Hydrology team conducted a survey of the Kernville gage at Kern River in Kern County, and determined that the town of Kernville experiences flood impacts beginning when the Kern River reaches 13.5 feet in depth. Kernville saw many flood impacts over the past winter with the historic rainfall that occurred. As such, from a meteorological, hydrological, and dissemination standpoint, the creation of a river forecast point and flood stages along the Kern River at Kernville will better serve NWS customers in Kern County and the towns of Kernville and Riverkern. Effective Wednesday, November 1, 2023, the National Weather Service plans to incorporate this new river forecast point into our flood messaging and products, alongside the other five established river forecast points our office manages.
For the Kernville river forecast point, monitor/action stage will be 12.5 feet, flood stage will be 13.5 feet, moderate flood stage will be 17.5 feet, and major flood stage will be 20 feet. Below is a table of the flood stages with the corresponding flood impacts seen by the Kernville community.
Kernville River Forecast Point Flood Impacts
| Stage (ft) | Impacts |
|---|---|
| 12.5 | Increased river flows almost reach the top of the river bank. |
| 13.5 | Flood stage. Flooding of Riverside Park next to Kernville gage house is imminent. Water has begun to overflow along the river bank. |
| 17.0 | Riverside Park begins to see scoured riverbank damage. |
| 20.0 | Flood waters begin to inundate businesses, properties in downtown Kernville. Roads begin seeing significant flooding, impacting home and emergency service access to Kernville. |
The NWS, California Nevada River Forecast Center (CNRFC), and Local and County Officials have supported the above creation of a forecast point. If you have feedback or questions regarding these changes please email any of the contacts listed below.
The data for these sites are provided by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), a partner of the NWS. Without this critical data our forecasts and warnings would not be possible. The USACE website is here: https://www.spk-wc.usace.army.mil/
Andy Bollenbacher and Antoinette Serrato
Hydrology Focal Points
National Weather Service Hanford
andrew.bollenbacher@noaa.gov
antoinette.serrato@noaa.gov
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