On the topic of "Sierra Snowpack and Stream Flow Data / Maps," I'm beginning to get a sense of the importance of "river forecast" if river crossings are potentially going to be part of one's trip. I'd be interested to know how exactly how to predict river flow.
It seems to me that part of a river's flow comes from recent rainfall that can be predicted from a weather forecast.
Assuming no new rainfall, river flow seems mostly a factor of snowmelt (snow melt), I think. And snowmelt is largely determined by the daily solar cycle where the hottest temperatures during the afternoon will cause a "pulse" of snowmelt to flow downstream. And how far away the snow was from the point along the river one might be crossing.
For example:
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/Qu ... an=25hours
Over the most recent 24-hour period, the So. Fork Kings River at station KBC is at a low point (4,260 cubic feet per second at 14:30 PM). It was at or above 5,500 CFS between 12:15 AM and 3:00 AM this morning. Yet, 24 hours ago, it was 4,490 CFS, 230 CFS more than it is now.
Of course, with that much water, a crossing would be impossible. In the Fall of 2023, the numbers will be much lower. However, would knowing the rise and fall of the So. Fork be applicable on the Middle Fork? There aren't that many CDEC stations (maintained by Kings River Water Association?) that measure river flow.
There's three useful query parameters. Above, s=KBC means the station. Above, span=25hours means the duration (not just hours, days will work). Not shown above is the start time/date, e.g., d=03-Jul-2023 would generate a table from sensors a week ago. Ooops... the d= parameter has to also have a time, e.g., d=03-Jul-2023+12:10
Is there a thread just above river crossings? (Also, be careful of snow bridges that can collapse and send an unsuspecting hiker into a freezing cold, fast flowing stream!)