National Weather Service California Nevada River Forecast Center Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service

*** IMPORTANT ***  Week of June 16 - Website Data Outage - Due to a major computer upgrade the week of June 16, nearly all data on the CNRFC web site will not be updated. We anticipate the down time to be approximately 4 days. The latest deterministic hydrologic forecasts for official forecast points will continue to be available at the National Water Prediction Service during this time.
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MERCED RIVER - YOSEMITE NP AT POHONO BRIDGE (POHC1)
Latitude: 37.72º NLongitude: 119.67º WElevation: 3862 Feet
Location: Mariposa County in CaliforniaBulletin Group: San JoaquinRiver Group: San Joaquin
Issuance Time: Jun 07 2025 at 8:01 AM PDTNext Issuance: Jun 08 2025 at 9:00 AM PDT
Action/Monitor: N/A Minor Flood: 10.0 FeetModerate Flood: 12.5 FeetMajor Flood: 20.0 Feet

Please Note:
1) Each individual timeseries plotted on the graphical river forecast can be toggled on and off by clicking the legend entry above. If the "Observed (Raw Data)" contains bad data and is toggled off, the plot will scale to the remaining timeseries.

2) At extremely low river flows, the "Observed (Raw Data)" may show readings below the lower end of the available rating table, while the "Observed (Simulated)" will only show values at the bottom of the rating table, creating a potential discrepancy between the two readings.
Observed Data Credit
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Raw streamflow data is provided by the US Geological Survey (USGS).
View US Geological Survey (USGS) Data for this station location.

Verification - Historical Graphical RVF
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Day:  
Year:  
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To view other verification locations, use our Historical Graphical River Forecast Interface.
Historical Stage/Flow Data
Water Year
Peak Discharge (cfs)
Stage (feet)
Date
 Most Recent 5 Years
2024
5,090
8.79
May 16, 2024
2023
9,520
12.08
May 22, 2023
2022
4,810
8.55
Oct 25 2021
2021
2,160
5.92
May 6, 2021
2020
3,560
7.41
Apr 30, 2020
 Historical High Stage/Flow Events (Period of Record - Oct 1916 to Present) - Ranked by Flow
1997
24,600
23.43
Jan 03, 1997
1956
23,400
21.52
Dec 23, 1955
1951
23,000
19.98
Nov 19, 1950
1938
22,000
19.10
Dec 11, 1937
1965
18,000
16.96
Dec 23, 1964
Location Photographs
ESRI™ Locator Map
Flood Impacts
23.45 FeetFlood of record...1/3/97. $178 million damage to Yosemite Valley.
13.6 FeetLift stations at Housekeeping Camp and Yosemite Creek flooded. Southside Drive at Chapel Meadow impassable.
12.5 FeetNorthside Drive at Wosky Pond, El Capitan crossover, and Sentinel crossover are impassable to vehicles.
12.0 FeetWater on road at Northside Drive, Southside Drive, El Capitan crossover, Sentinel crossover, and Highway 140 near Cookie Cliff.
11.4 FeetWater begins to overtop road curbs on Northside Drive. Swinging Bridge overtops.
10.0 FeetMerced River at Pohono Bridge begins to rise out of its banks. Flood Stage.
9.5 FeetLower Pines and Housekeeping Camp begin flooding.
7.0 FeetRIVER IS CLOSED TO RAFTERS AND FLOATATION DEVICES.
Official 7 Day National Weather Service Forecast   (CAZ324)
Today: Sunny in the morning then becoming partly sunny. Chance of rain late in the morning. Chance of rain showers early in the afternoon. Slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs 76 to 88. West winds up to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Tonight: Partly cloudy in the evening then clearing. Lows 58 to 66. Northeast winds up to 10 mph.

Sunday: Sunny. Highs 76 to 88. East winds up to 5 mph shifting to the west in the afternoon.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then clearing. Lows 59 to 65. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the northeast after midnight.

Monday: Sunny. Highs 78 to 90. Northeast winds up to 5 mph shifting to the west in the afternoon.

Monday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 60 to 66.

Tuesday: Sunny. Highs 78 to 90.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 58 to 64.

Wednesday through Thursday Night: Clear. Highs 72 to 88. Lows 51 to 61.

Friday: Sunny. Highs 69 to 81.
Product Disclaimer

This river graphic is not intended to serve as a substitute for official flood watches, warnings, advisories, or statements issued by the NWS San Joaquin Valley-Hanford Weather Forecast Office. Observations are preliminary and subject to change. River levels identified as "forecast" should be consistent with those contained in official NWS products. River levels identified as "guidance" have significant uncertainty due to future weather or reservoir regulation and are provided for planning purposes only.