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winterfresh0 t1_jdpzx05 wrote

Reply to comment by Porsche928dude in California Snow Depth Visualized (Winter '22-'23) [OC] by plantboy97

Not claiming this will happen here, but just going to mention this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1862

>The event was capped by a warm intense storm that melted the high snow load. The resulting snow-melt flooded valleys, inundated or swept away towns, mills, dams, flumes, houses, fences, and domestic animals, and ruined fields. It has been described as the worst disaster ever to strike California.

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KDII t1_jdq57py wrote

A significant change between then and now is the dams we built to protect against exactly that.

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Jolly_Scholar7367 t1_jdt0vab wrote

Would have been easier and more informative to just make a colored contour map

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kbeks t1_jdqcoyp wrote

Important caveat is that since then, we’ve damned many rivers and built many reservoirs to capture the runoff. Those were also at historic lows thanks to the drought, so it would take a lot to overcome that deficit and produce such terrible flooding again. Not saying it can’t happen, but it would take a lot. Also, the Dollop did a great episode on the great flood.

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IrishMosaic t1_jdqksup wrote

Over 100 dams have been removed in California in the last 30 years. Resulting in historic flooding, mudslides, and the inability to capture the snow runoff before it reaches the pacific.

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Lance_E_T_Compte t1_jdqwf5s wrote

You neglected to mention WHY they were removed...

They made countless fish and wildlife extinct or nearly so.

The vast majority of those hundred you mention were very small.

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Toothmouth7921 t1_jdtsn91 wrote

Not to mention several were filled with silt and we’re becoming useless

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mexicanitch t1_jdqexfh wrote

I remember learning that as a lil kid in Ca. Huh. Cool beans. Thanks for the random memory pop up.

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brfoo t1_jdrelkh wrote

It will happen again. Just a matter of when

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