High Water Alert! The Peshtigo is going to be rocking this weekend!
1:30am
The second of what looks like three or more waves of storms just finished rolling through the area. The second was a good one around here, with a big light show of almost continuous lightning and the accompanying thunder, and of course torrential downpours.
The first wave stayed mostly to the north, though we could see the frequent lightning and we got a little rain out of it. The third wave is still over near Eagle River, and is moving east at about 20mph.
This week I said that the transition from 90s and humid to 81 and pleasant probably wouldn’t be a quiet one. Apparently I called that one. The radar summary is showing the storms having tops that reach 50 and 60 thousand feet up into the atmosphere. That is pretty significant, and as a result we are seeing significant rains and a big light and sound show. Thankfully none have gone severe.
The people that are lucky enough to be whitewater rafting on the Peshtigo River by Kosir’s this weekend are in for a spectacular ride. It looks like we will be smashing the record high water levels for today, and the river will be on the rise. A rising river is always a fun one, and the Peshtigo River will be on the way up all weekend.
Right now the river is at about a +6″. It is running at 477CFS for volume, down 5% from the crest yesterday of 503. The record for today (Sat) in the 14 year history of the USGS gauge is 493. That record WILL be smashed today. There is no ambiguity there.
The first and second waves of rain hit the Peshtigo River watershed quite nicely, and the third is lined up to hit it again in a few hours. Radar returns are showing an inch to an inch and a half from the first two waves, and the third wave is not a small one.
Here is the key… The Peshtigo River watershed is fairly long and narrow. The rain that hit Monday really started raising the river Wednesday because it hit in the upper reaches of the watershed near Laona and Crandon. There is a 2-3 day delay as the rush of water winds it’s way to the whitewater section. That will happen again, but because the first two waves also hit the close reaches of the watershed between here and Armstrong Creek, the rise will start almost immediately. Weekend paddlers are going to have primo water levels and a rising river.
It looks like another wave brewed up in between what I saw as the second and third waves, and it announced itself in grand fashion. I was taking advantage of the break in the rain to walk out to the truck when a lightning bolt hit by the bend in the road <200′ away in the direction that I was looking/walking. That will wake a guy up.
Whatever the case, we already have enough rainfall from early week to make this weekend’s whitewater rafting happen on near record river levels. With the rain tonight there is no question that we will smash that record running away.
It am a little cautious about predicting a final level, but I will do it anyway. Considering tonight’s rain, the already high river, and the moderately high soil moisture, I would expect to see +10-12″ by Sunday. It could be more, but I am fairly comfortable in a 4-6″ rise for now.
Anyway if you are even remotely inclined to do some whitewater rafting, pay Kosir’s a visit over the weekend or early next week and catch some spectacular water levels for this time of year.The rocks that people got stuck on last weekend will be under a foot or foot and a half of water.
Have a fun and safe weekend and thank you for visiting!
RJB