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<br />E52 <br /> <br />FLOODS OF 1965 IN THE UNITED STATES <br /> <br />maximum flood of record are given in table 19; unfortunately, of the <br />four sites, the 1935 flood peak is known only at North Platte. During <br />the June 21-24 flood, the flood plain of the South Platte River was <br />inundated to a width of 2 miles along some reaches, a condition caus- <br />ing considerable damage to crop and pasture lands, Failure of a dike <br />at Hershey resulted in the flooding of 12 homes and about one-third of <br />the town. Farther downstream, below the confluence of the South <br />Platte and the North Platte Rivers, the flooding diminished, but the <br />peak discharge at Brady (table 19) was the largest and that at Cozad <br />was the second largest since records began at those two gaging sta- <br />tions in 1937, However, on the basis of earlier records at stations up- <br />stream and downstream from these sit"", the 1935 flood is believed <br />to have been greater than the June 1965 flood at both Brady and Cozad, <br />Based on regional studies, the recurrence intervals of the 1935 and <br />June 1965 flood discharges of the Sonth Platw River at North Platte <br />are more than 50 years and 25 years, respectively. By contrast, the <br />peak discharge of the 1935 flood on South Platte River at Julesl>urg, <br />Colo. (period of record, 1902-64) was exceeded only by the flood of <br />June 20, 1965, <br />Generally heavy rains over southeastern Nebraska on June 25-30 <br />caused local flooding along many streams, l>ut rainfall was heaviest <br />and flooding most extensive in the N emaha River basin, Of particular <br />significance among causes of the flood was the heavy antecedent rain- <br />fall observed at some Weather Bureau gages June 26-28 that set the <br />stage for the high percentage and the great volume of runoff from <br />the heavy rainfall of June 26-29 (twble 20). A farmer living near the <br />Boy Scout camp south of Humboldt reported to the Falls City J ourual <br />that 13,10 inches of rain fell,at his home-en June.25-3(}. This amount <br />included 6 inches during the night of June 26-29 and 3112 inches during <br />the night of June 29-30. The peak stage at the gaging station on <br />Nemaha River at Falls City (St.. 10) occurred on June 29 (table 19). <br />It was the highest in the period of record, which began in 1944, but <br />the peak discharge was less than that in 1954. About 14,000 acres of <br />farmland along the N emaha River between Salem and Preston was <br />inundated, Much of this land was planted in wheat and was ready <br />for harvesting. Several thousand acres along tributaries of the Nemah.. <br />River also were flooded. Many bridges and culverts were either de- <br />stroyed or badly damaged, and a large amount of gravel surfacing was <br />washed off flooded sections of county and State roads. Tiaffic was <br />halted on U.S, Highway 73 south of F..lls City (near sta_ 10) for several <br />hours at the height of the flood, and State Highway 8 between Du Bois <br />and Salem was closed when approaches to two bridges were washed out <br />on June 29. In the Pawnee City vicinity (about 10 miles northwest of <br /> <br />I <br />t <br /> <br />I <br />, <br /> <br />SUMMARY OF FLOODS <br /> <br />E53 <br /> <br />Du Bois), Turkey Creek flooded State Highway 65.south of'town <br />and State Highway 4 at the underpass west of town. A small creek <br />that runs through Pawnee City was reported to have reached the <br />highest stage in the memory of local residents. A farm family living <br />south of Humboldt was isolated when two bridges in the immediate <br />vicinity washed out during the flood. About 1 mile southwest of <br />Du Bois another farm family was stranded; floodwater inundated <br />their home, farm buildings, machinery,- and automobile and drowned <br />one horse and many of their chickens. <br /> <br />TABLE 20.-Daily precipitation associated with the floods of June fJ9 in southeastern <br />Nebraska . <br /> <br />8it~ofobserva.tion <br /> <br />Timaof <br />observation <br />(hours) <br /> <br />Precipitation, in inches <br />J_ <br /> <br />29 <br /> <br />30 2&-30 <br /> <br />26 <br /> <br />27 <br /> <br />28 <br /> <br />Dawson.___..___..________"__u_______________ <br />FallsCity____..._____u______________________ <br />Pawnee CitY._un________"-____uuu_u_u_ <br />Smiles southeast of Pawnee City_____________ <br />5 miles north of Table Roolc_um.u.__.mu <br />Tecumseh~u_u_____ __._h........ _....__.___ <br /> <br />2400 <br />Sunset <br />0700 <br />2400 <br />0700 <br />1900 <br /> <br />0.05 0.38 <br />1.08 .30 <br />.80 .94 <br />.91 mum <br />.81 .72 <br />.63 .13 <br /> <br /><62 <br />1.10 <br />,84 <br />(') <br />.47 <br />,18 <br /> <br />1.80 _h..._... 6.85 <br />3.87 0.73 7.08 <br />6.31 .71. 9.60 <br />9.16 .09 10.16 <br />3.15 .52 5.67 <br />2.35 .70 3.99 <br /> <br />1 Amountincluded inmeasurementfor June29j recorder not operating 2100-2400 hours; 5.66 inches recorded <br />prlortQ2100hours. <br /> <br />FLOODS OF JUNE-AUGUST IN UTAH <br /> <br />By ELMER BUTLER <br /> <br />Many floods occurred throughout Utah from early June to the <br />, middle of August, In Utah,. springtime floods are usually-caused by <br />snowmelt or rain on snow, and sununertime floods are generally caused <br />by thunderstorms. Sununertime storms result from unstable moisture- <br />laden airmasses that move in from the Gnlf of Mexico, often cover <br />small areas, and cause precipitation of high intensity. The resulting <br />peak discharges from small contributing areas may be very high. <br />In many parts of Utah, rain gages are sparsely distributed, and if <br />an area covered by a storm is small, the reported rainfall figures may <br />not reflect the intensiy of a storm which produced a large flood. <br />The most nowworthy floods in Utah from early June to the middle <br />of Augnst are hereby described in chronological order. Fignre 24 shows <br />the locations of peak discharge determination points. The sites at <br />which peak discharges were determined for the several flood periods <br />are liswd in downstream order in table 21. <br />