A really wild 48 hours out here in Forks. Wasn't the most rain I've ever seen, but the combo of lots o'rain and warm winds has got the rivers at levels we haven't seen in several years!

Wanna see an impressive rainfall total from the rainforest?? (if it drops off, it was 6.24 inches in 24 hours) And check the temp too, this is some ways up in the hills!

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/Missoula/msoobs?site=RTOM&type=2&src=rgl

Took some pix around the area today for your viewing "pleasure":

The Bogachiel under the 101 Bridge around 2 PM:



The Sol Duc entering the Whitcomb-Dimmel ramp parking area, also around 2PM ... this evening, the water was about 100 yards further up the road!



The Hoh from Cottonwood Campground lot. River here was at 27,400 cfs and a level of 13.12 feet when this pic was taken at 9:30 AM. The river peaked tonight at 43,300 cfs and 16.99 feet ... almost four feet higher, needless to say Cottonwood Campground was under water this evening.



We checked the upper Hoh this afternoon, and this is what we found at the first rip-rap you come to on the Upper Hoh Road (level then was 41,000 and 16.47):



Needless to say, the rivers will be shot for a couple of days out this way. Sad to see this quite this much water as there will be some scouring of the fall salmon beds But remember that Bill Freymund, head of Region 6 management tells me this doesn't happen. I'd like to know how the eggs survive when the place where they were depsoited that was two feet deep at spawning time is either 5 feet out of the water or 9 feet deep when it drops!!

[ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: Bob ]

Amazing pics Bob, looks like the bogy's going to take out that bridge.
As far as the salmon eggs go I'm with you on that one. If they're not hatched yet they'll be wiped out.
By the way, when do the smolt hatch for chinook, silvers and chums???
Keith

How much rain did you get????

OOPS...you already answered it!!!!

plannin a trip over to the grays harbor area this weekend to check out grays harbor college and was wonderin how those rivers were?
tyler

Rivers are goin to be blown for the week or longer if you look at the long term forecast so fishin is gonna be crappy. More time for Bob to recover and catch up to the rest of us....so how's it going ? I know you wouldn't plot this rain just to slow us down ?

Gooose

Tyler are you looking into a fisheries program in Grays Harbor?

~ Dr Pepper

Those levels remind me of a few febs back when I took a week off to fish the natives.Read a few books,did alot of exploring and found alot of tackle hicking the shore instead.
Seriosly,when the rivers punch up like this and then makes that initial 4-5 foot drop they leave alot of takle on the shore.Last weekend I found 3 Kwik fish[whats with wrapping the shank of your trebble with crazy thread]12 differant plugs,bobbers.a stream thermometer,and of course lots of corkys,most are junk though.This was all in only 20 minutes of looking on one hole!!

ltlCLEO,

You are seeing the magic thread that the guys pulling the Kwickies used to wrap the sardine on with. Once they break the plug off, the sardine slowly breaks down over time, and eventually it washes away, leaving a ball of thread on the shank of the treble.