Monitoring Reports

Situational Awareness (Wednesday, 2023-10-04)
CO-OP is reinitiating daily drought monitoring and reporting today because Potomac River flow at the US Geological Survey’s stream gage at Point of Rocks, Maryland, is below 2000 cubic feet per second (cfs), CO-OP's daily monitoring threshold. According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center predictions, no rainfall is expected in the basin over the next three days. The week-long outlook expects a total of approximately 0.2 inches of rain.

Situational Awareness (Monday, 2023-09-25)

Situational Awareness (Saturday, 2023-09-23):
The U.S. Geological Survey gage at Point of Rocks reports current flow at 1600 cfs (1034 MGD) and shows an upward trend. Projections from the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center (MARFC) predict 0.8 inches of rainfall in the next 24 hours. Over the next three days, an average basin rainfall of 1.7 inches is anticipated, with a weeklong total forecasted to reach approximately 2 inches.

Situational Awareness (Friday, 2023-09-22)
River flows at Point of Rocks have fallen below 2000 cfs over the past 24 hours. According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center predictions, the next 3 days may see 1.6 inches of rain. The week-long outlook expects a total of approximately 2.2 inches of rain in the basin.

Situational Awareness (Thursday, 2023-09-21)
River flows at Little Falls continue to hold relatively steady after the impacts of last weeks' rainfall have receded. Flows at Point of Rocks have risen to over 2000 cfs over the past 24 hours. We are still making daily morning email updates on conditions and will continue to do so until we see conditions remain stable above that threshold.

Situational Awareness (Tuesday, 2023-09-19)
Potomac River flows are holding relatively steady due to recent rainfall. According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, no rain is expected in the basin over the next 3 days. The week-long outlook for the basin calls for an average accumulation of approximately 0.9 inches of rain.

Recent basin-wide average precipitation (above Little Falls):

Situational Awareness (Monday, 2023-09-18)
River flows have fallen over the past several days as the impact of last week’s rainfall recedes. But the basin received about ¾ of an inch over the weekend, so we expect flows to start rising modestly again. No rain is expected in the basin over the next three days.

Situational Awareness (Saturday, 2023-09-16)
Precipitation is still affecting flows at Point of Rocks and Little Falls. No rain is expected over the next 24 hours. However, the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center predicts an average basin rainfall of 0.5 inches over the next 3 days. 

Potomac River flows at Little Falls are still elevated due to the recent precipitation. According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center predictions, rainfall averaging about ½ inches is expected in the basin over the next 3 days.

Recent basin-wide average precipitation (above Little Falls):
(based on CO-OP's Low Flow Forecast System analysis of Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center (MARFC) gridded multisensor precipitation estimates)
Yesterday's area-weighted average basin precipitation: 0 (inches)

Situational Awareness (Wednesday, 2023-09-13)
River flows at both the Point of Rocks and Little Falls gages are now above all CO-OP drought monitoring and drought operations thresholds. We are continuing daily drought monitoring because flows are expected to begin falling in the coming week. According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center predictions, only 0.2 inches of rainfall is expected in the basin over the next 7 days.

Recent basin-wide average precipitation (above Little Falls):