Abstract
From 18 to 19 June 2013, the Ésera river in the Pyrenees, Northern Spain, caused widespread damage due to flooding as a result of torrential rains and sustained snowmelt. We estimate the contribution of snow melt to total discharge applying a snow energy balance to the catchment. Precipitation is derived from sparse local measurements and the WRF-ARW model over three nested domains, down to a grid cell size of 2 km. Temperature profiles, precipitation and precipitation gradient are well simulated, although with a possible displacement regarding the observations. Snowpack melting was correctly reproduced and verified in three instrumented sites, and according to satellite images. We found that the hydrological simulations agree well with measured discharge. Snowmelt represented 33% of total runoff during the main flood event and 23% at peak flow. The snow energy balance model indicates that most of the energy for snow melt during the day of maximum precipitation came from turbulent fluxes. This approach forecast correctly peak flow and discharge during normal conditions at least 24 h in advance and could give an early warning of the extreme event 2.5 days before.
Highlights
From June 18 to June 19, 2013, the Ésera river in the Pyrenees, Northern Spain, caused widespread damage due to flooding
Finding the correct solution is not easy as the identification of the correct snow line is difficult during heavy precipitation and on mountain ranges with sparse instrumentation
The simulated north–south gradient in precipitation is observed in the measured data, between Llanos del Hospital (PV2) and Ampriu (PV1) The geomorphological evidence suggest a strong gradient as the Vallibierna sub-catchment (VA) was showing less sediment transport and deposition than in previous floods events in the area (Santiago Somolinos, personal communication)
Summary
From June 18 to June 19, 2013, the Ésera river in the Pyrenees, Northern Spain, caused widespread damage due to flooding. Most of the largest floods in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California have been associated with ROS [4,5,6]. In Germany, ROS have much larger hydrological influence than rain alone in catchments above 400 m a.s.l. ROS have been identified as a primary cause of changes in channel morphology due to erosion [7,8,9,10,11]. At a site in the Oregon Cascades, 85% of all landslides which could be accurately dated were associated with snowmelt during rainfall [7]
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