358 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. JUNE,1916

SECTION IV.-RIVERS AND FLOODS. RIVERS AND FLOODS, JUNE, 1916. While the heaviest losers were the owners of inundated farms with growing crops, the niost severe mfferers were the occupants of houses By ALFREDJ. HENRY,Professor in Charge. borclering Rock and Elm Creeks. tributary to the Neosho River, in [Dated: River and Flood Division, Weathor Burean, July 31, 1916.1 Allen County. The flood water stood at a depth of several feet in many houses. clamaging hoiisehold oods and other property. Crude Local floods occurred on the Ist, in northenstciii Iown, oil was carried from'the adjoiningoi! fields by the flood, and when the due to torrential rains which fell in connection with Low wter rccwkd the petrolcum was deposited along with dtin houses, No. I, Chart 111. The following account of the rn.iiistoriii on laivns. st,rcets. and farm lands. In the vicinit,y of Humboldt and Chnnute oil and pas oportitions in the bot,t.om lands were suspended for and the resulting floods lins been prepared by Meteorolo- two mec-ks. Drillers were unable to work, and pumping plnnts were pist, J. H. Speucer, in cliarge of the Dubuclue () river forccd to shut down. 0t.licr losses to the oil industry were caused dist,rict: IJYthe ljrcnliiiig of two pipc lines across the river, cutt.ing off t,he pro- duction from m:trket. The storm in northemt Iowa on , 1916, was one of the mnst. Most. of t.he lcvers I~reachcdby the flood of last September mere destructive on record in this part of the rountry. owiiig to the reriulting broken again. On act-ount.of washed-out trnrks and bridges, assen- local floods. Esceptionally heavy rainiall wils rwrrdccl over tlie ger trntlic on the Missouri. I<:uism & Texas and t.lie Missouri SaciSc yterpart of northeast Iowa, in connectiou with seyere thunderatornis. Rdwnye was suspenrlrd for several days. hese storms occurred between 5 p. m. nnd midnight. and most of the At Empori:i. near the conflucnce of the Cottonwood and Neosho rain fell in less thm three hours. At Decorah. Iowa. the amount of Rivers, thc Hood &:%e was exceeded on June 1. which was a continua- rainfall was3.31 inches, ancl the time of heaviest fall between 5:30 p. m. tion of the overflow of hiny 31. The flood stnge wits also esceeded on and 7p.m. At PritirieduC'llien,~~is.,theamount a~s~.10incIies,:c~1dJune S-9, June 1'7-1s. inclusive. and -24. inclusive. making 14 the time 6 . m. to 9:30 p. m. days of inundation of lowlands in that. vicinity. The highest stage, The rema of sucl! heavy rainfall in such a short period was thtit, in the more hilly sections of northeast Iowa floods of an escelitionally 23.5 feet. occurred on xid15. The greatest loss in t.lLit vicinity destructive character occurred. A great volume of wnt& rushed was the inundat,iou of prospective crops. down the steep hillsides into creeks or srnnll rivers, aweping away. -\ t. Ioln the Ilood stage was cwccdetl on 15 clays fro:n to 23: bridges, buildings, live stock. etc. iiia.liisivc. nid again on Jime 25-3. The Iii&st wat,er. 4.5 feet almve tloutl shgc on June SI . Iai:!icd tao-tent.lis of t.he niariniiiin st.age on The greatest losses were at Decordi. Fort At,chisoii,nncl B1d;regor. all Beptenilwr 7. 1!11!i. and seven-tenths of a foot of the highest stage re- Iowa towns, but there was hardly ii rciilrd linc iu nort.liF.ast IOW'Bt.liat cw-tIcil at this slnt.inn on .Tuly 10. 1904. the Ialier bein$ tha niost ex- did not experience damage of some sijrt. Vore than 25 large railn,ad bridges and a large number of county I~ridgcsani1 culrert,r?wrc dam- i.cnsive flood for ~lli~hthere are reliable records. During June. 1916. aged or destroyed. The mat,er rurrhed through tho principal streel. of i.he inundat,ion of lowlands for 15 days was 3 days inure prolonged lsut McGregor, flooding stores ancl doing great datni:tgc. ~n.sprobably not quite so extensive as during July. 1904. In t,hiH Packard. Iowa. a passenger train ran iuto a washout and 16 persons part of the river course more t.han half of t.lie overflowed crops mere At a total loss, alt.hougli some 01 the lend will be planted again thicl were killcd and many iiijurcd. sc.ason. Damage was 80 severe to railroad property that normal traffic on some The estimat.ed louses due to the Roods of t,he Neosho River and its of the branch lines of northe$ Iowa wa8 not resunied for sis weeks or more. It will, in fact, require many months to complete permanent tributaries during June, 1916, were: re ars. Eiiildin~~,fact.ories, municipal plants, highways, bridges. - - - - $20, 500' Eosses are estimated to he at least $500,000, divided as follows: t.hps w1iic.h nay or may not have been housed __....____.__.353,000 7. $250.000 to railroacls,.rotldbedand trw$ rolling stock and contents, et.c.; 2- rospectivn crops, 94.C10 a.crCs involved - - .- - - - . .- - - . - .. . - - - 946.500 $150,000 to the various counties vislt,cd by the storm-hridges riid 1 i\-e stocli or oblier iuovahle propert,y---.-. - - - - ._- - -.. __..- - 10,500 culverts, chiefly; $100,000 to rix .tte individuals--st.orks of nicr1:11;1ii- hispcnsion 01 lnisinras, including wages of employees. -.. . .- - 70,000 dise, live stock, suspension ofeuskss and wages of employces, etc. Knniings of the flood were generally iswell from IS to 4s hours in Ot-her severe local floods occurred in the wmteivhetl of advmre of t.he overflow. on several days previous to the flwd the Cheinul!g aiid Canistco rkers of sou th-cc.nt,rd New nc~~il.cswere given to dsily newspapers ~11:lpul-~li.~liecI t.liat with ilip rivw i:ewly bank-full, I~cavyrains noid~lt-nusc. dc-st.ructiveoverflov; d Tork and in nort,h-centra.l couiit.ics of Pc.iinsvlviiiiin. I~-~~:.l:iiiilaalong t.lie rivrr course.--ll. Li. Uolroni h: !)hnsrzw. The rains wliidi produced t,liesc floods fcU on the 16th Pkitd in .~~s~fsui~.~jri.---i'nll~~niuh.lhe floi:iil of .'ipril 1.1 to Junc 2. and 17th, but inasmuch as t,here is no reguhr ~~'iwthcr.:i.ii,oi lir-r tlociil ocrwrrect iii t.he Jlisskippi R.iwr froin 1~4ow\Tarsaw. Bureau stat.ion in that, region, the minidl wits no 1, slitj\riI 111.. in !.ouisinna. MI)., from JUIIC 7 :n a!inii! JIUIC~26, lOlij. t. Quiwy. Ill.. thn river was at. or al-m~t.he 1li.ioiI from Cc.*li.- .', on the daily weather nin.pa; it must, haw f:dleii in lo 2'3 and the highest. wits 10.4 feet LII~Jiine 9 and IO. necbion with LOW No. VII of Chart 111. 'hi:, wev!~,: .!.t liaiinil:d, froni Jnne 7 to June ?I;, the liighest \vas 16.2 feel. later heavy rains again visited this rcqion, de~t.r~~~i~i;:Sarll? 10. At. I.oiiisiana, froiu Jiine i io -1, the I~igliest~was 15.S feet. on much of the construction work that, had heen begun tiJ . restore the Iroperty damngecl by the floocls of tw-o wwh ,\d\-isairy warnings were issued on and llood warnings on previous. kewspa.r,er reports of d:imn.gc in thc Cllcl1i1ili;: .Tune 7 and S. and Cniiisteo Valleys, also in Pot,ter ani1 Tioga Countica. !,'r>lh+iq as it did tlie long-continued iloocl of dpril, May, and early Pa., place the loss at $375,000. Four persons lost thir June, tbis iiood caused tiit little actual daina~e. No properly was dcstroveil. ihe damage consist.iug of B furt.lier clelay iu tlie planling lives by drowning. As mi instance of t$e heavy lo!-:il and t.ii1 t.ivst.ion vf tinps in the l?ot'tom lands. The flood continuwl downpours, it is stat,ecl that Lake Keuka? of Ttxt,es mil 90 lam thal it was the first of July before t.he unj:wt.ectcd lands could St,euben Counties in ceiitra.1 Kew York, wit.h u, clrsiiiq:i:. be plo~.\-t?d.niiii as a result. thouculnrls of aims of this land will grow a.rea of about 196 sc uare miles, on rose 7 i1icI:o:i up in re-.&.which wnulJ have hen plsntml in corn, hnd the water . in 34 hours. The l:& &.elf has ai1 area of npproshn:it,cly rwrdod t.wo weeks ear!ier.-E. L. II~ihZi-o~i.Mt*tcor.olo!riui. 39 scpare miles. A rise of 7 inches would therefort. F700d.s .in. ii7w Sr.X.ansn.sR,iver.-Henvy locnl dow11pou1.s represent a little inore than 413,000,000 cubic fect, or 1x1 the 5th. Low No. 1x1, Chart, 111, in the riciiiity of about one-third of u cubic mile of mater. Wichit:i, Kmis., caused Chisholiii Creek, n trihutnry Floods on th.e .iiTeosho in southeast Ka~~as.-TheNeosho was in flood of tho , which passes through Wichita heforo throughout its entire course in Kansas durin the month. In dimtion joining t,he niniii stream, to overflow its hJ1kS in the the flood was one of the longest on record. Aeavy rains fell on the 5t.h. .~iort.lieriipart of the city, where large apsin the stock 6th. and again on t.lie Sfltl-1. Tho f:dl on the last,-naniecl date at five ynrds mcl adjoining sections wcre mundnt,ed. The stations in the valley nveryed esactly 3 inches, and it was to t,hia sudden downpour, for it all came diiriiig t.he night of June 10-11, that sit.ust,ion hecnine criticn! later in the clay, hccausc of caused the general overflow and the subsequent high wnt cr. ;:L rise that cmie cIow1i the Little Brkniisns Itivw, which

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'oins the main stream 1% few miles above the city of TABLE3.-Floods in the upper d4rkansas R,iver and tributa&.s during kichita. Lcvees, which had been erectedin 1904 as a June, 1916. protect.ion from overflow from the Little Arkansas, held Above flood and serious fiiiancial loss was averted. The total awe- stage. Crest. age overflowed from both rivers was about 2,500 and the River. Station. 1 - 1- 1- From- damage $3S,lSO. To- Stage. Date. Heavy rainfalls agn.in on the 20bh, in connection with low No. VIII, Chart 111, caused the overflow of about FWt. Fed. .4rkansss...... Wirhita, Gam...... 4.0 7 7 4.6 7 300 ncrr.; in 'the sparse[y settled districts in the north Do...... do...... 4.0 31 22 51 ai Cottonwood ...... Emporia, Iians ..... 19.5 1 1 20.7 1 elid of Wicliitn, and probably 3,000 acres in rural dis- Do...... do...... 19.5 fi 9 3.0 9 tricts, daiiiaging crops to the extent of about $30,000. Do...... do...... 19.5 12 1s 23.5 14.15 Do ...... do ...... 19.5 21 24 2-2. 6 a?. The total loss 111 the Wichita clistrict is eutininted at Neosho ...... Neosho Rapids, !a. 0 16 18 22.0 16 Iians. $GF,lSO. Do ...... rln.. .._____: .... 22.0 !a 23 2.9 !a no ...... Le Roy. Kans ...... u.n 12 21 37.1 12 Tht ('oZuwbiri Kirir /l~od.-TThc Columbia River ~IJH~sf eadily from Do...... do...... 24. IJ w 25 24.5 24 the melting now in the nioiintains. navkwater frnni this stream DO ...... Iola. Eans ...... 10.0 11 23 14.5 11 mused the IVillani~tteRiver. at I'nrtbnd, to rise fronl 14.8 feet rin the l>o...... do ...... 10.0 25 28 11.0 ?6 I)n...... c>sweco. ans...... I 2n. 0 13 2y 23.1 19 kt to "'2.7 feet on the 31th. and it was still rising at the latter date. Granrl...... Fort Gibson l-lkls.. 22.0 16 15 22.0 15 Heretofore the latest date the rrest of the Columbia River flow reached Eiorth Canadian...... Reno Junctltn, Okls 8.0 10 15 13. 6 io Portland was July 1-2, in 1850. while this year the crest will not be Do...... do ...... 60 1s 1s 8.1 18 reached until even later than in lSSO.-E. A. Beak, District Forrtwstu. The total loss or damage by floods during June, 1916, TABLE4.-Floods .in the Susquehanna Ricer cind tributaries duriiig June, as enumerated above is $2,648,650. 1916. I: Loss to railroads in drktuisas during -Feb- :'may, 1916, not previously re orted, $35,941.51. - The usual statistics of floocr s in the principal rivers River. and their tributaries follow in sis tables.

TABLEl.--F/ocrds in tlrc iippcr AfissiSSiypi and lrihuturks during June, Frff. 1916. Busqiiehanua Chemung...... Junista.. Huntingdon, Pa. 17 Above flood Crest. Sh@. River. Station. Flood -_ - stage. TABLE5.-Floods in the Southern States during June, 1916. ram- TO- Date. - - - - - Aboveflood Feet. Fed. River. Station. 1-71Stage. yhsissippi...... Keokuk, Iowa.. ... 14.0 7 14 14. a 8-12 1 1 Do ...... Warsaw I11 ...... 17.0 1 12 17.0 7-12 Do ...... Hsnnihdl, Yo ...... 13.0 1 3 13.6 1 From- To- Stage. I Date. Do...... do...... 13.0 7 26 16. D 10 Do ...... , Yo ...... 12a 1 a 13.0 1 Fcrf. 12. a 7 24 15.8 10 Staimton. Randolph. VB 14.0 7 10.4 e10 ...... 21.0 10 16 22 1~03110!i0...... \\'eldou. N. C...... 30.0 17 17 1s 0 1 3 X7 1 dantcc Rimiui, Do...... do. 0 9 XO 11-12 ...... S. C ...... 13.0 1s 19 i...... 1s. 1s Do Fermson, C 6 St. Louis, Mo ...... 1 ...... 8...... 12.u 20 21,22 Do ...... 30.0 as. D Caw Feiir...... Elirnhethtown. N.C.1 3u. 0 !I 10 Do ...... Ca eCirardcau Mo 30.0 2 2 30.1 a Do do 11.3 1 0 13.5 1-2 ...... 20.0 19 19 IS0 \Vest Pearl...... Pearl River, La.. .. 1 1 5 1s. 7 3 Trinity Lihert.y,Tex -1 2.~0 24 ...... 1 1s 0 s 30 21.4 11 Rio Graude...... San Marcia1.N. Mes. 11.01s:O 16.0 11 30 17. 4 251.26 I 1 1 16 15 0 1 30 14.4 1 __ - - -

Crest.

Stage. I Date. Above flood stage. Crest. Flood Ftd. River. station. stage. - ('1 33.5 30 (1' 40.4 80 From- To- Stage. Date...... 39.9 30 I (0 13.6 30 hooknai ...... Bouuers Perry, 213.0 17 PI 32.7 22 Feet. Ffef. Itidlo. LUssond...... Blair Nelx...... 15.0 ...... 14.5 30 Pcnd Oreille ...... Ncwport Wash-. ... 115.0 19 21.8 30 Do...... Hem'anu. Yo...... 21.0 s D 31.1 9 clearwater...... Kamiah.'Idaiio.. ... 15.0 10 "'20 13.7 19 8oloman...... Reloit. Kans ...... lG.0 ...... 15.6 15,21 H'illamette...... I'or~laud.Ore i5.n s 22.7 BO Smok Hill ...... Lindsborg Kans.. .. 20.0 14 14 21.5 14 8an Joaquin...... Firrbmgh. Cat: 12.0 15 i3 12.4 19,zo CJ...... Chillicoth&Yo..-. .. 1Y.O 4 4 18.2 4 Pings ...... Picdrs. C31 ...... 12.0 B 19 13.1 17 Do...... do...... 18.0 7 10 25.6 8 C'oiorado...... Topock. lriz...... 14.0 1s 23 14.s 20 Do ...... do...... 18.0 26 26 19.8 26 Green ...... Green River. Wyo.. 9.0 IS 24 10.0 22 ...... osr@oiaNO ...... 20.0 lti 1s 22.0 16 Gunnisou...... I Sapincro, Colo...... 16.0 4 33 17.4 14 9;...... ~aneii:YO ...... !a0 ...... 19. s S I ...... I I I _- -

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