August 10, 2011
from Weather Journal 2011-12:
64° this a.m. Slight weather change with wispy, mare’s manes and tails, clouds all day – the kind of sign that would indicate a rain in two or three days if this were December, but not. High temp around 95°, so no BIG change. Dry Creek is still running (3 cfs), and our stockwater springs have really picked up, some ponds running out their spillways for the first time in a couple of months. The springs’ connection to the Sierra snowmelt seems obvious, taking until August leak down to us in the foothills. The days are also noticeably shorter.
I don’t remember Dry Creek ever running this late into the summer, and now we are approaching the time of year that the riparian, mostly sycamores and Valley Oaks, stop taking water. Not too many years ago, Dry Creek began running in early December without any rains and runoff to contribute to its flow, just as a result of the trees beginning to go dormant. As long as there’s water in the channel, anything can happen, but three or four 100+ degree days in a row, it’ll be done. I seriously doubt that the creek will run all year, but we’ll keep tabs in the Weather Journal.
drycrikjournal 