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Just a quick question about river stages. When you look up flood information and river flows, the data shows CFS and the current stage. What exactly is that saying? If it is currently at 2.5ft, is that an average depth of the river? Thanks for the help!
John S. Riverdale, Utah
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Looking at units that we measure a lot of weathery or watery things in gets confusing. A CFS means cubic feet per second, and it's how we measure stream flow. If a river is at 50 CFS and flood stage is 30 CFS then it's time to run for your money. CFS is measure of volume of water passing a point in time.
River stage is height in feet but CFS is river flow or river volume. Relating the stage to the flow is the rating table, special engineers look at that information. If the river stage is 5 ft, that is the height of the river or you could say the depth.
You can find river information at the bottom of the main ksl.com weather page and with some links on the right. Always stay away from fast moving water even though it might look shallow. Many thanks to NWS Hydrologist Brian McInerney for helping out with these definitions.
Answered by KSL Meteorologist Dina Freedman.
