Northern Basin flow returns to seasonal average after a three-week deficit
Basin gauges recorded a third consecutive week of rising flow. In the bulletin covering the past twenty-four hours, the daily mean returned to the range treated as the seasonal norm for late August.
The deficit observed since late July was attributed to two factors: an early end to snowmelt supply and a low rainfall total in the upper reaches. By mid-August neither remained decisive.
Gauges DK-14 and NB-03 report a mean daily discharge of roughly 118 m³/s for the past week, against 96 m³/s two weeks earlier. The ten-year mean for the same calendar window is about 121 m³/s.
What changed in the method
Since the start of the month the basin bulletin has followed a single schedule: the daily value is computed over the 00:00 to 00:00 local interval and rounded to whole units. Previously some gauges reported on a rolling window, which made weekly series hard to compare.
Gauge R-12 is excluded from the current bulletin: it is undergoing a calibration check after drift was recorded in July. The check is scheduled to run to the end of the month.
What comes next
The seasonal decline usually begins in the second half of September. Until then the desk plans a daily basin bulletin, with a weekly review on Mondays.
A separate review will cover the three southern districts, where the August rainfall total remains below the ten-year mean.