Over the span of a given year, all rivers and streams experience a range of flows that reflect the seasons, recent weather conditions, soil moisture levels, and the runoff characteristics of the watershed. For relatively short periods of time, ranging from hours and days to many weeks, flow can temporarily exceed the capacity of a channel. This causes water to overflow the river banks and inundate low-lying lands adjacent to the channel. Such an occurrence is a flood.
Over the span of a given year, all rivers and streams experience a range of flows that reflect the seasons, recent weather conditions, soil moisture levels, and the runoff characteristics of the watershed. For relatively short periods of time, ranging from hours and days to many weeks, flow can temporarily exceed the capacity of a channel. This causes water to overflow the river banks and inundate low-lying lands adjacent to the channel. Such an occurrence is a flood.