freshet

[fresh-it] /ˈfrɛʃ ɪt/
noun
1.
a freshwater stream flowing into the sea.
2.
a sudden rise in the level of a stream, or a flood, caused by heavy rains or the rapid melting of snow and ice.
Origin
1590-1600; fresh (noun) + -et
Synonyms
2. See flood.
Examples from the web for freshet
  • The trickle of commentaries, if not yet a flood, is becoming a freshet.
  • Predictably, this has produced a freshet of populist outrage.
  • Radio telemetry transmitters were not planted in rainbow trout redds to evaluate this year's freshet.
  • Being creatures that enjoy some salt in the water, they have moved out with the freshet.
  • These data loggers will be deployed from the spring freshet to early winter, taking measurements every two hours.
  • Flow augmentation is designed to simulate a natural freshet that helps speed fish on their journey between dams and to the sea.
British Dictionary definitions for freshet

freshet

/ˈfrɛʃɪt/
noun
1.
the sudden overflowing of a river caused by heavy rain or melting snow
2.
a stream of fresh water emptying into the sea
Word Origin and History for freshet
n.

1590s, "stream flowing into the sea," from fresh (adj.1) in a now obsolete sense of "flood, stream of fresh water" (1530s). Old English had fersceta in the same sense. Meaning "flood caused by rain or melting snow" is from 1650s.