Do I dare ask?? Someone has definitely pissed off Mother Nature! (really, Ma, I don't ever want to see a locust swarm....just so we're clear on that).
Once again, here we have a case of be careful what you wish for.....having had enough of the snow, I think I might have mentioned that I would rather have the rain for awhile, and warmer temps.
OK, maybe I should have specified, light rain and normal winter temperatures.
Instead we received torrential rain (over 10" in a day in some locations) and very warm temperatures for this time of year (thanks Hawaii). Snow levels went way up, and with the rain melting all the snow as well as adding to our already swollen rivers and streams....
Welcome to the first flood of 2009 (hoping it's the last as well).
Here's a couple of pics looking down from our hill to the river overflowing it's banks below into a farmers fields.
Here's where that water was going....across the road that gets me to town and work.
This was just the first "little" puddle that I also went through to see what the real river was up to.....
By the looks of things it was up to over 4 feet....those white posts are 5 feet high.
The river was still rising when I took these...the water flowing inward towards the mountains.
I drove down the other way, towards the town of Sultan, I knew the road would be closed that way too.
I'm guessing this car wasn't running when the river came up....or they would have moved it to higher ground. Though I did see many pictures on the news of people that tried to drive through the water and were stranded.
A few of the homes were designed with floods in mind.....not sure how I would feel about the river surrounding my home.
The creeks were over capacity and brought many of the hillsides down with them.
Here are some pics of the river, I missed some of the trees that looked like toothpicks being tossed about.
I guess I'll have time to do a couple of blog posts today and read up on all the posts I've been missing out on, on my favorite blogs.....looking at the positive! :)
27 comments:
In your spare time today, you might want to google "how to build and ark." Geez louise that's alotta watta! Try to keep those critters and yourself high and dry.
You didn't really need to be paid for a full-time job, did you? Goodness, all this weather is using up your SHEEP SHOW time! No fair! (I know, Mom; life's not fair....)
Oh my goodness! Stay safe! It looks scary out there! Reminds me of the Iowa floods we had in the spring of 2008 - they devastated some areas and so much livestock was lost as a result. I hope yours do not get as bad as that.
Gosh, hope you all see that lot out unscathed. I have an awful feeling that our area will look like that once all this snow melts!
Oh my gosh! So sorry to hear about all the rain. And I can't believe you lost all your beautiful snow. Have you used all your vacation days yet?
Unbelievable, eh? Great pictures, Tammy. Take heart, I've heard that it's supposed to stop raining and we'll have no measurable precipitation for over a week. Hard to imagine now, though. Parts of I5 are now closed and the only way to get from Portland to Seattle is via plane!
I hope you knocked on wood when you mentioned the "L" word (locusts). lol
DO NOT drive your vehicle through flood waters. May not look like much water but you can be carried away. There are plenty of people who take chances but don't do it.
We're back in to cold and snowy here in the NC hills.
Linda, you know it's funny....one of the houses at the bottom of our hill is named the ARK (and has a sign that says so). It's a huge house....and I'm guessing it will float?:)
Michelle and Karen....yes, my available Vacation days are dwindling. I could take them leave without pay....but who can afford that???
Wow Tammy! I am glad you are high and dry were you are. Drive safe and don't try to get off your hill until the water recedes. Hope you are well stocked with the basics. Your photography is great, really tells the story.
Danni, I am SO looking forward to those dry days....if for nothing else to clean up the mess that everyone left during the snow!!
Joanna, I only drove through the standing water part, that was not from the river but the rain. I value my life and my vehicles more than that! :)
Amazing. California desperately needs the rain and instead it goes to Washington. Go figure. My neighbor had his sprinklers on today for the horses. Nobody waters in January here; this year is exceptionally dry. Don't rush to go anywhere. Just stay safe. Water is a powerful force.
Great pictures but geez I am sorry to hear about all the flooding in your area, gives new meaning to when it rains..it pours huh? Be safe and enjoy a few more days at home. I hope there isn't any damage to your property from all the rain.
Wow! That is incredible! I've never seen that much water in person.
Sometimes I think Mother Nature turns into the wicked Step Mother then during spring and summer and beautiful fall I remember she can be good to us also. I am ready for several dry sunny days now. I think the Washington State motto should be "a river runs through it"
Yikes! I hope it all clears up for you soon. I'm glad you and your animals are high and dry.
We were watching this on the news, I hope you'll be able to get what you need. I wish WA could pump the floodwater to CA! I've thought the same for the Mississippi floods that could be piped to AZ and other dry states in the West. That would be a good Works project. And we have lots of money to spend, right?
Yikes!
I've been thinking about you and wondering how you were faring with all the precipitation.
I second or third what everyone has been saying about "stay safe!"
There was flooding in the midwest a few weeks ago when we had rain on top of snow, but nothing around here anywhere near what you've got.
Hoping the water level can go safely down without doing more and more damage!
OMG, Tammy. And don't mention locusts!. We have more than our share here and now that we don't have the Banties running around, we have more.
Thanks for posting the river pics. Sure does bring back memories when we were neighbors. Remember the guy crossing the waters and his car started floating? The one neighbor saved him and his "cargo" in a boat and the guy couldn't leave fast enough. Come to find out his cargo was "drugs" and he was trying to get away from the off-duty officer standing on the banks. That was quite a story back then.
Is that black dually someone I don't want to remember?
How's your pond holding up?
Floodwater is a scary thing. My niece almost drowned in a flash flood when she thought she was driving through a few inches and it suddenly became a torrent. Anyone who doesn't have a healthy fear and respect of rushing water is a fool. I'm glad you are smart, Tammy! I feel so badly for all the folks who are losing their homes and livelihoods. Take care.
Sorry about that! (the deleted one) I didn't finish a sentence! :P
I was wondering how you were faring ~ Glad that you are high and (for the most part) dry.
I live the hop across Stevens Pass in Der Leavenworth :) We got a lot of water down the Icicle, and the Wenatchee, but only up to the brims, and not over the top.
Keep the mold down if you can, and ((Hugs)) from the "not so dry either" side of the Cascades.
The weather is crazy. I am in shorts today the temp in side the house is 80 so I had to open the window to cool off. We have had lots of rain in 08 and hope it is not as bad. I do not want drout like you said be careful what you ask for. Normal weather please. Thanks for stopping by.
I hope your water goes away.
Wowsers, that's a heckuva lot of water! Stay safe and dry as possible. Thinking of you!
Harmony,
Janet
I just wanted to let you know I nominated you for the Lemonade Stand Award! You can read about it on my blog. When I read that the basis of it was on gratitude and attitude I thought of you, because you have had such a good, positive attitude even though you have been snowed in and flooded in lately! I love your blog!
Whew! I'm glad you're high and dry, but I suppose the river and flooding still affects you, since you are basically stranded. Wow!
That house on stilts still doesn't look all that safe. What if the water speeds up and something big like a large tree or car or old shed comes barreling at it? Yikes!
It's never a little, is it? It's always all or nothing.
~Rapunzle
(By the way, thank you for the cards, chocolate and calender. I was so touched. It made me smile. Thanks for thinking of me and caring. ((Hugs))
I'm going to do a post about this later tonight.
I checked out your blog from Critter Farms. I heard it was flooding up there but had no idea how bad things were.
Down here in California we are having unseasonable warm weather. Mother Nature sure doesn't pay attention sometimes. We need rain and you have way more than you could possiblly want. Hope it lets up soon. Take care.
Visiting from Critter Farm, I'm in Longview/Kelso so feel your pain. Half of Kelso was evacuated and schools closed due to the flooding. My poor camel didn't leave his house for days due to the fact he hates the rain and is a big baby! Great pictures, I hope this is it for weird weather and spring will arrive warm and dry! Kim
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