I think we'll be okay, though. A couple of days ago, inflow into Lake Oroville was 195,000 cubic feet per second while water was being released at 65,000 cfs.
Now, it's down to about 80,000 cfs coming in and 55,000 going out.
The rivers affected should be able to handle that even though water levels in our levees are already high.
The bridges would be what would worry me. That overflow spillway is going to probably pick up a lot of trees and debris. The first downstream bridge in Oroville looks like it will probably be OK. But those next two look lower and look like they might catch some debris. Hopefully the earthquake proofing will be of some help in withstanding additional pressure. And the three bridges in use there look to be fairly new.
The Middle Fork got hammered Wednesday and Thursday. I hope all that water is down to the lake by now. Portola is a mess.
There’s a lot more rain on the way.
Nevada is nice.
The glory hole in Berryessa (Fairfield/Vacaville) is about to overflow, if it hasn't already done so. That one hasn't overflowed in years.
Clearly 55,000 wasn't enough going out or the level would not have rose to reach the emergency spillway. The emergency spillway cannot be regulated so the flow will now equal the inflow of 80,000 CFS, plus trees and other debris will now start jamming under bridges and the like. Be alert and careful! That's a lot of water.
Look at the elevation of the top of the lake water. Compare to the elevation of your home. If you’re not 2X higher, and are downstream, bug out. Better safe than sorry.