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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />, I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />As for the storm, she recalled that the rain started near or a little after 8 PM. In addition, <br />she had written down that 1.95 inches of rain had fallen the previous evening (July 28th) <br />and was enough to get the South Fork of Pawnee Creek (which is only about 100 yards <br />north of their house) flowing. The rains feU all evening quite steadily. She did not <br />remember the rainfall rate as unusually heavy, but it just kept coming down. She did not <br />recall on her own that the storm backed in from the east, but when I mentioned it she <br />agreed whole-heartedly. Near or before midnight, they went out to check their rain gauge <br />(Taylor amber-colored wedge shaped gauge with markings up to five inches but a capacity <br />for perhaps six inches total). They are confident that they had NOT emptied the gauge <br />from the previous evening, but were still very surprised to find the gauge totally filled to <br />the top. They conservatively estimated that it rained just over four inches up to that time <br />(assuming a gauge capacity of six inches and that very little had spilled). When they <br />checked their gauge the next morning, they found an additional 3.65 inches, Thus, they <br />estimated that the total at their place was about eight inches. <br /> <br />Nancy recalled that the river peaked about 1 :30 AM on the 30th only about 20 feet from <br />their house and by 3 :30 AM was beginning to recede. At that time, the rain had stopped, <br />and she believed the rain let up or had nearly stopped not long after 2 AM. <br /> <br />In addition to the rain reports, she also had several comments about flooding and damage. <br />Their ranch is 6000 acres, much of it not far from the South Pawnee Creek. They had two <br />spreader dams badly damaged, many corrals destroyed, 200 giant round hay bales swept <br />away and 32 fence crossings wiped out. Ben Walker from New Raymer told them that <br />this was worse than the 1965 flood. It was definitely far worse than anything the Kuglers <br />have experienced since they moved their in 1969. As an aside, after the flood, Pawnee <br />Creek has been clear, sand-bottomed and very attractive through their property with <br />several deep holes. Prior to the flood it was a muddy and occasionally scummy <br />intermittent stream. <br /> <br />In summary, it appears that at least 7.5 inches of rain fell at their loeation on top of 1.95 <br />inches the previous evening, Confidence in this lower limit is quite high (B), as they read <br />and recorded their rain measurements and maintain their gauge faithfully during the <br />summer. However, the reading is obviously not precise since the gauge spilled. There is <br />also the question of why the original survey team reported 4.5 inches for this station, It <br />appears that they did not include the 3.65" that fell after they emptied the gauge the first <br />time. While there are some uncertainties, the magnitude of the flooding they reported <br />definitely support extreme rain amounts at their location and also upstream. This had not <br />previously been shown in the preliminary analysis. <br /> <br />17 <br /> <br />~- <br />