Until 2024-11-08T00:00:00-07:00 • National Weather Service
...PROLONGED WINTER STORM CONTINUES, WITH HISTORIC SNOWFALL IN EASTERN ELBERT AND LINCOLN COUNTIES... .A slow moving winter storm continues to impact the region with multiple rounds of snow. Generally light snow bands will affect the area overnight, but then expect the next wave of heavy snow to impact more of the region Friday and Friday night, and then slowly diminish Saturday morning as the storm exits the region. Heavy snow accumulations have already paralyzed traffic in east central Colorado including much of the I-70 Corridor around Limon and nearby points surrounding that. Significant snow accumulations have occurred across the Palmer Divide and southern Foothills. Additional heavy snow will spread westward across the plains and into the foothills Friday morning, and then continue through Friday night. From this point forward, the heaviest additional snowfall will occur from Denver metro area eastward across the plains of east central Colorado. This, on top of snow that has already accumulated, will result in a historic snowfall around Elbert, Lincoln, and southern Washington Counties where storm total amounts in some of those locations will be near three feet! The Denver metro area will likely see another 7 to 14 inches with the heaviest amounts in southern half of town. Meanwhile, much lighter snow accumulations are likely farther north including Fort Collins, Greeley, and other plains locations north of I-76. Travel will be impossible east and southeast of Denver. Do not travel or expect to travel in those locations through at least Saturday as heavy snow impacts will last long past this storm. If you live in rural areas of eastern Douglas, Elbert, Lincoln, or southern Washington County be prepared to be stranded for several days. * WHAT...For the Winter Weather Advisory, snow. Additional snow accumulations up to two inches. For the Winter Storm Warning, heavy snow expected. Additional snow accumulations between 8 and 15 inches. * WHERE...Castle Rock. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 5 PM MST this afternoon. For the Winter Storm Warning, from 5 AM Friday to noon MST Saturday. * IMPACTS...Travel will be very difficult to impossible. Do not travel unless an absolute emergency.
READ SUMMARY
YEAR OVER YEAR DISCHARGE
Streamflow Conditions
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Allagash River Near Allagash
USGS 01011000 |
641 cfs | 2.52 ft | 13.25 |
History of the River
The Allagash River is a tributary of the Saint John River, approximately 65 miles (105 km) long, in northern Maine in the United States. It drains in a remote and scenic area of wilderness in the Maine North Woods north of Mount Katahdin. The name "Allagash" comes from the Abenaki language, a dialect of the Algonquin languages, spoken by the Penobscot Tribe The word, /walakéskʸihtəkʸ/, means "bark stream".The Allagash issues from Churchill Lake (formerly known as Heron Lake) at Churchill Depot in northern Piscataquis County. In its natural state, it also drained Allagash, Chamberlain, and Telos lakes, but in the 1840s dams were built which diverted their drainage into the East Branch of the Penobscot River, to facilitate the shipping of logs south to coastal Maine. Lock Dam drains some water from Chamberlain Lake into the south end of Eagle Lake, which then flows out through the Allagash as it naturally would. Extending the flowline of the Allagash River to Lock Dam on Chamberlain Lake gives a total length to the mouth of the Allagash at the Saint John River of 86 miles (138 km).The Allagash flows generally northeast, passing through a chain of natural mountain lakes. It joins the Saint John from the south at Allagash, Maine, near the international border with New Brunswick. The relatively unspoiled nature of the river has long made it a popular destination for canoe trips. In 1857 Henry David Thoreau, along with his Concord friend Edward S. Hoar and Penobscot guide Joseph Polis, made a canoe journey which led him to the source of the river, i.e. Heron Lake. His account of the excursion called "The Allegash and East Branch" was published posthumously as the third chapter of The Maine Woods (1864).
In 1966, the citizens of Maine voted to protect the river by authorizing a $1.5 million bond that would "develop the maximum wilderness character" of the river. Much of the river was subsequently designated as the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. In 1970 the waterway became part of the National Wild and Scenic River program of the U.S. federal government. Although the wild designation of the river is normally applied to free-flowing streams, the designation left in place the wooden Churchill Dam for historic reasons. In the 1990s, with the dam failing, the citizens of Maine authorized a concrete replacement for the dam to preserve the nearby recreational facilities on the river. The rebuilding of the dam was highly criticized by environmentalists. The expansion of recreational access to the river through new roads and docks has remained a controversial topic in recent years.
Development in much of the area surrounding the Allagash Wilderness Waterway is restricted by the Seven Islands Land Company, a private land management company that owns approximately 1 million acres (4,000 km²) of forest in northern Maine.
The United States government maintains one stream gauge on the Allagash, located 3 miles (4.8 km) above the river's mouth near Allagash, Maine (47°04′14″N 69°04′51″W), at which point the watershed is 1,479 square miles (3,830 km2). The river's discharge (flow) at this gauge averages 1,967 cubic feet per second (55.7 m3/s), with a recorded maximum of 40,900 cubic feet per second (1,160 m3/s) and minimum of 87 cubic feet per second (2.5 m3/s). Annual maximum flows occur during the spring snow melt and minimums in the fall.
