Sonoma County officials were advising residents in low-lying areas to evacuate as the Russian River came close to cresting.
It’s not as bad the flood of 1986 that swamped downtown Guerneville, but what has surprised people who live along the Russian River is how fast the river came up in such a short amount of time. They say it’s something they would typically see during the rainy season, in January or February, not during a 24-hour storm in the December.
On Wednesday night, before the storm, the U.S. Geological Survey reported the river to be at 5 feet. During the past 36 hours, it has risen 30 feet, to just over 35 feet, which could be close to cresting.
Friday morning, a hydrologist and two technicians with the USGS measured the Russian River’s water flow as it passed underneath the old foot bridge in downtown Guerneville. They were able to collect the rivers depth, width and velocity to calculate the volume. Median daily flow is about 800 cubic feet per second. They expect their readings to show a flow rate of 40,000-cubic-feet-per-second. That's an increase of 50 fold.
#Guerneville residents surprised how fast #RussianRiver rose. About 30 feet in 36 hrs acc to @USGS #BayAreaStorm pic.twitter.com/X1pw4boI4Q
— Bob Redell (@BobNBC) December 12, 2014No one who lives along the Russian River is saying this is the worst they ever seen, especially if they were around back in 1986 when the river flooded the downtown, but they’re still monitoring the situation closely.
