MSGID: 1:317/3 64247cc5   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   March 29, 2023 - Water Release from Arizona Reservoirs   
      
      [image03292023_rollover.jpg] [image03292023_main.jpg]   
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      Since December 2022, a series of moisture-laden winter storms have   
      drenched the West Coast of the United States. In the state of Arizona,   
      rain storms soaked low elevations while record-breaking snowfall buried   
      the high country. From July 1, 2022, through March 1, 2023, the   
      Flagstaff Pulliam Airport received just over 140 inches of snow, the   
      second-highest total recorded between July 1 to March 1 since data   
      collection began 101 years ago. At the same time, the weather service   
      office in Bellemont reported 146.7 inches, smashing their previous   
      record, which was 115.4 inches in 2009-1010.   
      
      Before the February and March storms struck, the National Weather   
      Service had reported that, as of mid-January 2023, the snow water   
      equivalent (SWE) in northern Arizona was already as much as 250 percent   
      of normal. During spring melt, snowpack in the high elevations release   
      water that is essential to moisten wildlands, agricultural lands, and   
      for human use, so the high snowpack was good news. However, the   
      ferocious winter rains had already helped fill reservoirs, including   
      the large Theodore Roosevelt Lake along the Salt River and the Granite   
      Reef and Bartlett Dams along the Verde.   
      
      Too much of a good thing is, well, something that has to be carefully   
      managed.   
      
      Throughout the year, the Salt River Project (SRP) releases water from   
      the dams on the Salt and Verde rivers into a series of canals to meet   
      the water needs of the Valley below. In particularly wet winters when   
      the reservoirs are nearing capacity, some releases outside of the canal   
      system are required to make room for additional expected runoff. This   
      year, for the first year since 2019, the “productive” storms and the   
      subsequent runoff had filled the reservoirs to near capacity by early   
      March, prompting water managers to release water from the dams. The   
      managed release has allowed substantial water flow in the Salt River,   
      and has caused flooding and road closures in some areas.   
      
      The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board   
      NASA’s Terra satellite acquired two false-color images of rising waters   
      along the Salt River below the Theodore Roosevelt Dam on two different   
      days. The first is on March 1, 2023, prior to releases from the dam,   
      but after a wet winter. The second was captured on March 27, 2023, when   
      the river was full and in flood, especially below the Phoenix metro   
      area. To allow a better comparison of the changes in the landscape, the   
      images fade into each other, with the dates acquired showing in the   
      upper left corner.   
      
      In this type of false-color image, vegetation appears bright green,   
      water looks blue, snow appears electric blue, and open land is tan.   
      Manmade structures, such as the cities in the Phoenix metro area, are   
      tinted gray. Theodore Roosevelt Lake stretches from northwest to   
      southeast in the right (east) section of the image, and the Salt River   
      flows toward the southwest. Prior to release, the Salt River below   
      Phoenix (lower left corner of the image) was tan and dry, but appears   
      flooded by March 27.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 3/27/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (180.8 KB),  500m (469.9 KB),  250m (287.9   
      KB)   
      Bands Used: 7,2,1   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-03-29   
       
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