Oroville >> Lake Oroville has survived its first weather challenge since the emergency spillway crisis, and is on the way back down.

The lake water level peaked just under the 853-foot elevation about 4 a.m. Wednesday and had declined about half a foot by 5 p.m. Inflow at that time was about 47,000 cubic-feet per second. Inflow all day has been below the 60,000 cfs that was being released from the dam.

The dam also got an unannounced visit by Gov. Jerry Brown Wednesday, even though he had earlier said he didn’t see a reason to, “hover in and mug for the media.”

His press office said he visited the command center and thanked the people working there. Photos of the visit were posted on social media, including one of him standing above the main spillway with acting Department of Water Resources Director Bill Croyle.

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit the dam Thursday, but again the media is being excluded “for logistical reasons.”

Meeting the challenge

DWR lowered the lake to under the 850-foot elevation following the emergency spillway crisis Feb. 12, with the intention of making room for runoff from the series of storms that hit the area Thursday through Wednesday.

Those storms produced substantial amounts of rain in the hills above the lake, with just over 10 inches falling at Brush Creek, according to DWR.

However the runoff into the lake didn’t get any higher than 93,000 cfs, which happened about 10 a.m. Monday.

Inflows before the Feb. 12 emergency had topped 190,000 cfs.

That flow pushed the lake level above the 901-foot-elevation top of the emergency spillway weir. When the slope below the weir began to erode rapidly, potentially threatening collapse of the concrete structure, evacuation of more than 180,000 people were ordered.

The evacuation orders were lifted Feb. 14, but evacuation warnings remain in effect, meaning people should be ready to leave their homes in short notice.

Water continues to run down the damaged main spillway. Below the break in the concrete chute that appeared Feb. 7, most of the flow appears to be using a new channel the runoff has carved north of the structure.

What’s next

The National Weather Service is predicting a new storm will arrive in the area Saturday night and linger into Monday.

That will be a cold storm, with snow levels as low as 2,500 to 3,500 feet. In excess of 3 feet of snow is forecast in the mountains above the lake. Rainfall amounts on the valley floor are expected to be in the 1-2 inch range, with 2-3 inches in the foothills.