Quick question on Rainfall and Water Flow

[ausablebrown]

PLEASE RESPOND QUICKLY!!! I'd like to get out today but I'm not sure? How much rain does it take to muddy up a stream? I'm thinking of going out today but I drive more than an hour to get over to western PA. What does half an inch of rain do to a small stream? The weather report says there's been .46" in the last 24 hours, and none for three days before that. The place only drains one little 3 mile long valley and usually clear within a few days time time. Is it worth a shot or probably a wash-out? It sounds like quite a bit of rain to me, but I'm not sure.

 

[Poke 'Em]

Way, way, way too many variables to say. How quickly did the rain fall? What's the vegetation like in the drainage basin? What's the average slope of the drainage basin? How saturated was the ground first? I've seen situations where 2" of rain dumped in 2 hours, and the creeks didn't rise at all because the ground was so parched. If your upstream drainage is densely vegetated in grass, your creek might rise, but not muddy up. If you've got heavy forests, your creek might hardly rise at all.

The only way to know for sure is to go.

 

[ausablebrown]

Yeah; I know there are quite a few variables but I was just wonder if .46" was a relatively heavy day of rain. I've fished there in the rain and a steady rain generally hits the stream within a couple of hours. The place is alot of old growth forest with a little undergrowth and primarily rocky soil. This stream is always down to normal flow within 2-3 days after even huge rains.