Tag: snowmelt rates

Why Our Rivers Flow the Way They Do !

On By Ron Abramovich2 Comments

Thanks Idaho Trails Association and letting me camp, work and watch the Selway River rise and fall this May. Here’s a summary about the climatic conditions (daily/weekly weather, cold & warm fronts, record high day & non-freezing night temps, snowmelt rates, lack of spring precipitation) that produced this spring’s Selway River hydrograph shape. It’s a complex world out there. Hopefully this helps explain the diurnal river changes and why our rivers flow the way they do as our winter snowpack melts in the spring.

snowmelt feeding selway salmon rivers AprMay 2025Download

Snowmelt Rates – Why Rivers Rise

On By Ron AbramovichLeave a comment

Ahh springtime in the Mountains! Everyone sings about weather… Riders on the Storm, Let it Snow, Mr. Blue Sky, Hello Sunshine, Purple Rain, Thunderstruck, Lightnin Strikes, Dust in the Wind, Rock You Like a Hurricane, Rainy Day Women… but only a few songs are about Snowmelt Rates. Maybe because the sound of melting snow is soothing, calming and relaxing.

It took Mother Nature 6 months to build our winter mountain snowpack and will gradually melt the snow in only 2 months in the spring! We know our summers are going to be dry and this is what makes life in the West life so unique. Because our summers are so dry makes us love our snow even more. See full summary below.

snowmelt-rate-summaryDownload