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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Women in Business Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend March 14, 2007 Since You Asked With so much snow in the mountains now, I'm wondering whether there's a risk of flooding if we get lots of rain this spring. -- Jim F., Medford The odds are agin' it, Jimmy. In the brief 150 years since Europeans have been keeping records here, all the major floods have happened in December (1861, 1955, 1964), January (1997) or February (1890, 1927). Several things generally have to happen in concert to set the stage for high water, and they're most likely to happen during the depths of winter. Advertisement By definition, in a flood there's more water than the soil can absorb, and most of it runs off into surface streams. Most floods hereabouts are preceded by a period of steady rain that thoroughly soaks the soil so there's no place for the water to go but downstream. Flooding often happens if a warm rain comes in behind a big cold snowstorm that drops quite a bit of snow at low elevations. We're talking pretty low here, say 3,000 to 4,000 feet. Snow absorbs rain like a sponge, but it can only collect so much before it melts. The deeper the snow, the more water it can absorb. Rain falling at higher elevations, where the snow is deeper, tends to be absorbed, but if there's only a foot or a few inches of snow on the ground, a big rainstorm can melt it all, sending vast quantities of water sluicing down our creeks and into our rivers. That's what happened on Jan. 1, 1997, when the residents of Ashland discovered how Water Street earned its name. This time of year, as we move toward spring, the storms generally become less frequent and less severe. There's relatively little snow at low elevations right now, so even if we were battered by warm storms, there would be little extra runoff to raise stream levels. Of course, anybody who follows the weather knows all about unusual events. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We're sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary