Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The North Fork of the Palouse River is back to normal levels this week after a surge at Palouse April 9-10.
The water crested at noon Wednesday, April 10, with the Lions Club Park near the car wash submerged along with much of Hayton Greene Park – the corner grass and trees area along the riverbank at the west edge of town.
Afterwards, the water went down four feet in one day.
“I need to go to church twice this Sunday, to say thank you,” said Michael Echanove, Palouse mayor.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) meter upriver near Potlatch showed the water height at 11 feet on April 7, increasing to 17 feet three days later.
The top line of water marked five feet below the flood of 1996.
The episode this year began April 9 with steady rain and Palouse officials watching the USGS meter reading — which comes from under a bridge along Highway 95.
That night at the Palouse city council meeting, the water level was still going up. From the location of the meter, Palouse calculates six hours until the water level reaches town.
By lunchtime the next day, the water hit its peak.
The flooding came after big snows in February and early March were followed by continued cold temperatures at night — which stopped snow melt for many hours each day to slow its pace.
“You can get a lot more water drained without problems when it gets cold at night,” said Echanove.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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