Chance of Flooding again [Archive] - Landspro - Landscape Propagation Forums

Dazed_Lily

01-04-2005, 02:47 PM

Yes William. It's a pop, snap and crackle ! And I've been listening to it for 2 hours. I have 160 40-50 foot tall Chinese Elm trees and they are encased in ice and it is raining. Everytime we hear a snap,whoosh, we run outside to see what fell and how big it was. I just came back from my neighbor's yard--he's sometimes a pain. He isn't home yet, but I knew a branch fell in his yard. I went over(looking up the whole time watching for branches after hearing a snap) and saw the branch--a clean break lying just propped against his wood fence. My plan was to move it. I tried the gate but the latch was frozen. Went back inside and brought over the tea kettle and poured it on the latch. It worked and I was in, but the branch was too haevy with all that ice for me to move it. Then I saw another bracnch lying partially on his storage shed--no damage. But then I went back in and got the camera for some CYA photos !
I have 3 pix of the trees in my yard that I'll post later tonite showing the beauty and impending danger of ice covered trees.
Just heard another snap snap whoosh whoosh...gotta check !

shepp

01-04-2005, 05:08 PM

i had 1 and 7/10ths in the rain gauge, more rain is moving in now.
it was supposed to stay north but by the radar its gonna be a direct soaking.
calling for an additional of 1 to 2 .
i hope no ice.
interstate 70 is closed due to flooding near buckeye lake .or 20 miles east of columbus ohio.

Dazed_Lily

01-04-2005, 05:19 PM

Since I posted the snaps and crashes have been occuring rapidly. I go out and try to move the branches but they are so heavy. Hubby and I tried to move some blocking the driveway and the next thing I knew I was on my derriere looking up at the sky--I had fallen bassackwards between the branches. I wasn't hurt and had a good laugh. The rain makes it even worse--everytime we go out we are already wet. Photos later.

Ann B.

01-04-2005, 08:03 PM

Brrrrr!

That makes me shiver to think about it! I don't think I have ever seen an ice storm where branches break.

It's hard to imagine that you are having cold weather. We are having really warm weather. Upper 70's everyday, and I think I saw that it was going to be 80 this weekend. Lows in the mid to upper 50's.

What a difference from that really cold spell we have on Christmas Eve that killed everything to the ground.

It is forecasted to be like this for the next 10 days. It would be nice to have this weather until spring, but I know that it will not last.

Dazed_Lily

01-05-2005, 04:46 PM

Lost power for 3 hours last night. It was eery sitting in candlelight listening to the cracks and crashes and also the dragging sound of ice laden branches across the roof. Gathered every blanket and quilt we could find and climbed into bed; as luck would have it about 20 minutes later the lights came on--Yay ! Forget the lights--the heat was back--double Yay ! The first thing I said was Thank you KG&E ! (Kansas Gas and Electric). Our Kansas Shepps were on the job. Still 56K in Wichita without electricity. Called the insurance companyand the tree cutter. Our insurance rep came out personally, not as an adjuster, but just because he couldn't imagine how we could have so many big trees. I think he found out. He had told us to take pix but he did as well. The only cleanup they might cover is if the branches were involved in damaging the house(like that's easy to prove). We didn't expect coverage for cleanup anyway just roof/gutter issues. Had a tough time backing out of the driveway and we later had to cut some precariously hanging branches so they wouldn't fall onthe cars when backing out--have only half of a 2 car driveway to navigate. Didn't have time to get to the digital pix but will in the coming days. It's 18 degrees with wind chill of minus 2. And Sunday it's supposed to be 54 ! :rolleyes:

Ann B.

01-05-2005, 06:26 PM

Cathy,

All of what you describe is so unreal to me, just as I suppose no one can really know about hurricanes unless you have been through at least one.

I can't wait to see the pics, so please do take and post some for us.

I have watched numerous movies with snow blizzards in them, and I can't help but think that they are so much more dangerous than a hurricane is... You see, we have a warning, and those who are threatened by water surges have time to get out. That doesn't mean that their house won't be destroyed, it simply means they have time to save their lives.

Yep, there are tornadoes, tons of them, that are spawned by hurricanes, but those are short lived. Thank goodness!

But, my goodness! We can survive the heat with no power for weeks on end, but how would one survive freezing weather without electricity?

Keep us posted as to how you are doing!

shepp

01-05-2005, 07:04 PM

dazed ----- leave those branches be untill it gets daylight.
there could be powerlines down in that mess. its not worth it.
one of the girls at work, mom died doing that very same thing.
moving branches in the dark...
leave em be. telll your neighbor to mind his biz. a branch off of your tree landing in his yard is his problem...

Rain gauge has 1.8 inches of rain today when i got home. thats 3.5 in 3 days.still more coming down.
no ice :) its staying north of me. flooding is getting as serious as last year again.:( those poor people some just got back in there homes only to be run out again. enuf is enuf !!!

shepp

01-06-2005, 04:19 PM

4 day total is now at 5 inches.
i saw sandbagging at some houses .many many others in water and under water.
what a mess. a local dam on the major river was level full .i had never ever seen it do that. more than 20 feet deep at the dam.
south of that or down river the town is under water.
the interstate is closed again.
ice storm is a mess 45 minutes north of me.
2005 isnt off to a very good start is it.

Rebecca

01-06-2005, 06:26 PM

WEATHER!

Well it has certainly be strange this season, and it's only January!

We had days and days of rain which also melted the 8-inches of snow we had. Little Prairie Creel is about half way up it's bank and they are very steep banks The rising water has to be a good 10-feet deep and this little creek is never more than 2-feet in the pools and gets nearly dry some summers.

I took the back streets when I went to feed the kitties today and the one older neighborhood I drove through was a wreck! All of those old trees with downed branches, even a stately old White Pine looked as if a giant apple corer had been used on it, striped all the bigger, older branches right off of it. It will probably have to come down completely now. At another place the entire tree had been toppled over (a Maple if I recall). Oddly it came off right at the soil line and no roots came with it. This tree had to have been in trouble long before Mother Nature did her pruning.

Another somewhat odd site was to see all of the towering Oak trees standing with very little or no damage at all, yet the one Maple tree at the edge of this "grove" lost the entire secondary trunk. Split that sucker right off and took a good 8 to 10 feet of the side of the tree with it.

One really interesting tree I saw several of were Birches, a few twigs broken, but no branches, they just laid down. Must be very flexible trees as I did not see one that had broken.

I took pictures while I was out, but only pretty sights. I'll get them loaded up to their own album later. Will upload the photo of my neighbor's Paper White Birch clump at the end of this.

Will also post a pix of the new "cat house" on the Wal-Mart Kitties thread.

No major power outages here, some of the older neighborhoods were without power for awhile, but most are back on-line now. There has been some flooding of low lying areas about town, but even that has been minimal. Not so for cities and towns South of me where they got the brunt of this storm. I heard a news report that 16 vehicles had to be rescued from one particular road in Indianapolis this morning. Makes you wonder how stupid people can be! Some even moved the barricades from what I have heard. Really stupid people~!

All for now!

vicki

01-06-2005, 06:33 PM

The weather here in West Mich. has returned to 'normal'. Which means the warm (high 40's) have taken a dive south, and the snow has returned. Received 5" or so overnite, but didn't get it all day long yesterday, like we were supposed to, or we'd have 2 ft. or so! The temps are in the low 20's and not so windy as it was a few days ago.

You all stay safe and warm! Dazed lily you listen to Shepp, and don't try touching those branches especially in the dark!

Ann B.

01-06-2005, 07:19 PM

Shepp,

That is so unreal to me that you are flooding with that amount of rain. If you look back in the posts, you will see days that I complained about flooding rains with 4-5" in one hour. That's in one day, all at one time, and it really downpours.

Honest to goodness, I think you all would drown with the types of rains that we get down here. But I realize that we are one of the rainiest cities in the US, and I won't complain too much because it has been dry as of late.

Obviously, I do understand the problems of flooding and the damage it causes. I hope everyone will be safe, and your homes wll not suffer.

I have witnessed too many homes flooded after a hurricane with surge waters that brought the water 5-6 feet into a home that is already 4-5 feet above ground. It is nasty, and it devastating to have so much destroyed in a short amount of time.

Please stay safe, and do not drive through those flooded areas. I have seen too many videos of cars swept away by flooding rains. Lives have been lost because they didn't realize how deep the water really was or how strong the force of moving water can be.

Ann B.

01-06-2005, 08:18 PM

Rebecca,

Your picture tells it all...

Wow! This is a pic that I never see here, and I don't think I ever will. You never know, though... Strange things happen!

I look forward to pics of the kittens and their headquarters!

shepp

01-06-2005, 08:34 PM

with the rain we had before christmas and the little snow, the ground can not absorb any more water. thats just my county.
we have been completely saturated since 12-23-04
now put that ice storm on top of that. snow on top of that 8 inches worth,
top that off with 5
inches of rain over 4 days across 8 or more
counties. drain all of that land into one river.

i think you can do the math now that you know the equation. answer = flood.

freezing weather tonite.
back in the 60's next week.

Rebecca

01-07-2005, 08:40 AM

Here's a pix of Prairie Creek, still running fast and deep. For a little creek that nearly dies up in the summer, it is staying very full. I'm wondering how much of the bank will be left when it finally recedes.

Rebecca

PS

I have a few images uploaded to the album: ICE STORM, if anyone wants to see a few more. Haven't gotten all of the loaded yet, but it's a start. Do a copy and paste on the url in my signature line to get there,

william.b

01-07-2005, 05:55 PM

Rebecca,
What kind of camera do you use for all the pictures you post?
Thanks,
William B.Z-6

Ann B.

01-07-2005, 06:12 PM

You are really getting the rain, aren't you?

Now, I am a dummy when it comes to winter up north.

What happens if you have a really hard freeze and all of this rain water has flooded the rivers, creeks and landscapes?

Do you just wait until spring for thaw down?

Sorry to sound so dumb, but I am curious because this is something that I have never experienced.

Dazed_Lily

01-07-2005, 06:36 PM

If the video will play for you, it's a nice story. (Since that story, they have been joined by crews from Kentucky). If you get install flash popups you can just say no and listen to the audio or read the article.

http://www.ksn.com/news/stories/6798634.html

Rebecca

01-07-2005, 07:10 PM

Wm.

Would you believe an inexpensive little SAMSUNG DIGIMAX 201!
I bought it last year when it was on clearance for $90, my previous one (SAMSUNG DIGIMAX 200) quit working on me and I had to replace it quick and the 201 was all I could afford at the time.

For a no-frills point and shot it does a dandy job for what I use it for. I have been drooling ove a particular Kodak Digital lately, it sells for nearly $400, so maybe I'll treat myself to one when the tax refund comes in.

For a first digital camer, the Samsung can't be beat!

Rebecca

Rebecca

01-07-2005, 07:22 PM

Ann,

We just "deal". . . actually, around here the ground stays frozen most of the winter, once winter really sets in. Rain tends to thaw things out, leaving some place for the rain water to go, but right now, with the ground saturated and all the creeks, streams, rivers and lakes pretty much filled, there isn't much we can do. People in flood prone areas pile up the sand bags and still prepare to move to higher ground.

If, or perhaps, when, we loose power, most are ready for that too, with a supply of lanterns, oil lamps, flashlight and what have you. Perishable foods can be put in the garage or a cooler and set outside - the cold will keep it fresh and usually frozen. Some folks have gas (natural or LP) and are able to at least keep warm.

I haven't had to deal with any long term power failures in the winter, so I just don't worry about it. I do turn faucets on at just a trickle to keep the pipes open. And I can cover most of the house plants - those in the windows get pulled away from them.

Mostly, though, we just go on with life.

Rebecca

shepp

01-08-2005, 01:53 PM

scroll half way down to see videos .
this post will need deleted when videos change.
view flooding in marietta and ice storm lima ohio.

http://www.onnnews.com/

Dazed_Lily

01-08-2005, 03:03 PM

EEk ! The ice scenes look familiar but that flooding is ba-ad !
Thanks for the link--good video !

Ann B.

01-08-2005, 03:30 PM

I have never seen anything like those broken ice covered branches.

WoW! That is something!

Do you have problems with people touching the downed wires like we do? I thought about that when the lady said that she has electricity, but then the video showed a large limb/branch hanging on a power line.

I think those of you up north have been sent our normal rain, and somehow we received a really warm spell.

However, that warm spell is about to break. We had some rain (not a lot) last night, and it has been misty sprinkles ever since. It's also gotten rather chilly, 57 degrees and going to drop to 52 tonight.

We are looking at temps to drop to the frost level late this week.

Mmmmm! I did say that I would never complain about too much rain, didn't I? You can send some back down our way, if you'd like.

Thanks, Shepp, for posting the videos. It helps to undertand better when you can actually 'see'. I am an extreme 'visual' person. I learn and understand better by seeing rather than hearing.

Thanks, again!

shepp

01-08-2005, 04:10 PM

i just got back from observing this today.
i was there yesterday and the water is up another 3 ft.
i dont know how many acres this covers and how many gallons that would be. my best guess its a helluva bunch.
read first link.. or play videos.

http://www.whiznews.com/article.php?articleId=11150

http://www.whiznews.com/article.php?articleId=11154

http://www.whiznews.com/article.php?articleId=11143

http://www.whiznews.com/article.php?articleId=11142

http://www.whiznews.com/article.php?articleId=11137

http://www.whiznews.com/alerts.php

Ann B.

01-08-2005, 04:31 PM

I have viewed the videos, read the articles and looked at the pictures.

There are major differences in your floods and the types that we face. In our populated areas, the water gets high fast, but also drains within a few hours leaving the grounds soaked and water standing in the ditches and in low lying areas. Damage is done, but it does not stay for a long time.

In the Mobile Delta, we have one high tide and one low tide per day. So, once the high has peaked, the water levels start to drop.

A little further north, the rivers will crest and overflow with heavy rains.

What we do not have is the problem with melted snow added to the rainfall.

I feel for those folks in mobile homes. Mobile home floors are made of wood that will buckle and fall apart when wet. You are talking about major damage when the water gets that high.

Gee, Shepp! I hope that relief from rains and melting snow is in the near future. I did note that the Red Cross shelters are there to keep families warm and dry. I often do not think that anyone (including myself) understands how much help the Red Cross is to the people who have to vacate their homes during disasters and/or seek safety.

Hang in there, Shepp! You haven't said, but I gather that your home, gh's and cf's are safe and you are working LOTS of overtime.

Thanks for sharing and keep us posted...

Rebecca

01-08-2005, 04:36 PM

We got that winter weather last night, but not exactly what was forecasted! IT called for light rain turning to snow with only 1 to 2 inches accumulation expected. Sure. . .. the car was entombed in a 4 to 5 inch coat of SNOW and a good 4-inches of it on the ground at 9:45 this AM. It had settled some, I'm sure as it was/is a wet, heavy snow. I saw where "Bootsy" had been out checking things out, even came all the way up to the back door of the house. I have been leaving this door open at night so if he wanted to he could come inside to get out of the weather. It's a common entrance, so I wasn't trying to heat the outside by doing so! Now that I know he does this I will have to try to keep the door open for him, unless we get a blizzard - I don't need a foot or more of blown snow on the floor!

Took some pictures and will attach one to show what my little creek looked like this afternoon, truly spectacular! Of course the added weight of wet snow on the trees didn't help the situation with braking and falling branches, but we are to get into the low 50's tomorrow and Monday and that will at least clear the trees. Unfortunately it will also fill my creek back up again (it has dropped about 3 feet- the bank looks very unstable too); I'm not too happy about that part.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the image!

Rebecca

PS This view is upstream, where the banks aren't as steep.

Ann B.

01-08-2005, 04:40 PM

Rebecca,

That is beautiful! A truly picture perfect postcard that would make.

The creek is not frozen? So, that is all fresh, new snow.

How gorgeous!!! Snow doesn't look nearly as cold as the ice covered branches do or is that just because I don't know any better?

;)

shepp

01-08-2005, 05:02 PM

this is a shot looking east . the left side of the highway is a soybean field.way out in the distance water is 20 ft deep on both sides of the road..

shepp

01-08-2005, 05:07 PM

this is a shot looking south west at a boat ramp.
the little spot in the middle of the pic is the top of a light pole at the waters edge of a parking lot when things are normal.
across the lake is a marina , it is way under water.

Rebecca

01-08-2005, 05:16 PM

Ann,

You just don't know any better! LOL, just kidding! Ice is colder than snow, but not that much. You can't see it in the above image, but there's still a layer of ice on the tree branched. Now ice covered trees topped with snow should make anyone shiver!

There is a strange thing about ice storms and snow and frozen ponds, creeks, etc.

Ice storms don't always require the ground temperatures to be at or below freezing for it to form and remain on the area flora, just the air temperature. Snow, on the other hand, must have freezing or below GROUND temperatures to be able to stick and accumulate.

For bodies of water to freeze, they also must reach 32 degrees and below and must be still. It's hard to freeze moving water and until yesterday, this creek was moving at a good clip! Downstream (for this creek and it's proximity to my home, that's just the difference between the East and West side of the street it runs under) the water is still moving. The level has dropped several feet, but I expect by tomorrow afternoon it will be back up again.

The retention pond behind the store is fed by an artesian well and by ground water run off. It was forming a thin layer of ice today, but with the warmer temps coming it won't last for long. It will freeze solid, eventually this winter, except where the well feeds into it and the muskrat lives - both of those natural occurrences will keep that area open. Muskrat's burrow is within a few feet of the run so it will be a good sized area that will stay open.

Shepp,

That image is signed, dated and I do have the (c) on it. It's very light, in the lower right hand corner, as I didn't want to detract from the image. The "framing" really sets it off too. That's about all I can do to protect my images, short of having 'DO NOT COPY' plastered all over them. I need to look into adding a digital copyright to all of my better images, but will have to wait until I'm famous to do so!

It pleases me that you both thought it so nice! I thought so too, but I'm biased!

Rebecca

Ann B.

01-08-2005, 05:45 PM

No need to kid, my friend!

You are absolutely right! I don't know any better. I have seen very,very little snow and ice in my lifetime....

When I used to travel to Massachusetts a LOT, I always avoided the winter. In all those years, I managed to only be in one snow storm. My 'boss' bragged about how good he was at driving (from the airport to the hotel) in those conditions. I was terrified!

My very best customer only brought at electric razor, and wouldn't you know that there was gas, but no electricity.

I was traveling from Dallas, TX where the temps had been ranging above 100. I checked the weather the week before. They said warm. So, I wore long slacks, but open toed shoes.

Thank goodness I was young. They all just smiled and forgave me as I grabbed hold of a young man beside me as I started slipping down the ice covered steps to the building.

LOL! Please laugh at me all you want because I think it is so much fun to learn!

Rebecca

01-08-2005, 08:26 PM

Ann,

I've done my share of unintentional ice skating myself!, and not necessarily when I was "younger" either!

Well, I have to go do back-up CD's of everything so we can do a complete System Recovery to fix the multitude of little "issues" I've been having with this computer. So if y'all don't hear from me you'll know I messed up and wasn't able to recovery my systems. It's almost not worth the risks, but I have to be able to shut this thing down and sound and video playback would also be nice. I can't even get simple animations to play right now!

Maybe I'll get really lucky this year and get enough back in my tax refund to get all three things on my wish list. (Glasses, Camera and Computer)

Stay warm everyone and y'all Yankees, stay upright!

Rebecca

sue salley

01-09-2005, 06:35 AM

Shepp, I saw pics on TV from your area. Looks bad. I hate mud and slush. Makes me very thankful for where I live. We have been in the 50's and 60's. No snow yet this year. We do occasioally get a good one though. I've only had to waer my heavy coat a couple of times.
We have a very unique little climate here surrounded by mountains. They block a lot of weather from the north and the east.
I am afriad we will pay for the warm weather come Fab. and March. I would rather have winter now and spring in March.
It has been so warm that the spring allergy season has started.
Everyone is suffering from allergies and sinuses. Big write up in the paper about it. I don't think we'll be lucky much longer.

shepp

01-13-2005, 04:42 PM

getting pounded 2 more times this week.1.8 incheswednesday nite, and pouring rain now.
the road i live on is missing 1/2 in one location. dissappeared yesterday after i drove over it when i went to work.
one lane road. i hope they get it fixed.fast
here are more pics of flooding some are historical. Dateing back to 1884.
and some new .
click on this link.

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/gallery/live/live74/photo01.html

here is current pics no pun intended.

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/gallery/live/live72/photo01.html

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/gallery/live/live71/photo01.html

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/gallery/live/live73/photo01.html