Posts tagged ‘weather’

Fox River Flood

by , posted on Thursday, April 18th, 2013 at 2:42 pm

After last year’s drought it was a relief to learn, just the other day, that our soil moisture has officially reached normal levels. But as they say, when it rains, it pours. And it’s not only been raining, it’s predicted to start again at around two this afternoon and keep raining until around midnight. Here are a few pics of current conditions – these pics are from St. Charles, but there are problems up and down the valley.

First, the Illinois Street Bridge is closed, not because there is water on the bridge, there isn’t. I remember this bridge closing in 2008, because water had filled the bridge arches and was hitting the side of the deck – a problem for this particular bridge as it’s sitting on the riverbed, rather than anchored in it, so the force of water broadsiding the deck has the potential to unmoor it. Not a big potential, but it exists, so in an excess of caution it was closed. Just a guess, but I suspect the same sort of thing is going on now, since there is no water on the bridge.

Illinois Street Bridge is closed

Illinois Street Bridge is closed

(more…)

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It’s No Katrina

by , posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2012 at 10:32 am

Nor is it an earthquake, or a series of lethal tornados, or any other sudden disaster. It is rather a natural disaster in slow motion, creeping and steady and relentless, and apparently not photogenic enough to merit your standard-issue disaster-type media coverage. drmon
They’ve got maps – along with a twelve week history rolling history of this drought unfolding – right here.

Along with juicy tidbits like “Looking Ahead: In general, July 4 – 8, 2012 doesn’t look promising in terms of relief, though the intense heat should subside somewhat.”

Here’s what intense heat subsiding somewhat looks like where I’m at:

Today Jul 5
101°F
77°F
Mostly Sunny
Chance of rain:20%Wind: W at 12 mph

Fri Jul 6
102°
74°
Mostly Sunny
Chance of rain:10%Wind: WSW at 7 mph

Sat Jul 7
95°
67°
Isolated T-Storms
Chance of rain:30%Wind: N at 15 mph

Sun Jul 8
83°
63°
Partly Cloudy
Chance of rain:20%Wind: NNE at 12 mph

Mon Jul 9
83°
60°
Sunny
Chance of rain:0%Wind: NE at 8 mph

Tue Jul 10
84°
63°
Sunny
Chance of rain:0%Wind: NE at 8 mph

Wed Jul 11
86°
68°
Sunny
Chance of rain:0%Wind: SE at 8 mph

Thu Jul 12
89°
66°
Sunny
Chance of rain:0%Wind: S at 8 mph

Fri Jul 13
89°
68°
Sunny
Chance of rain:0%Wind: SW at 9 mph

Sat Jul 14
90°
71°
Sunny
Chance of rain:0%Wind: SSW at 9 mph

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In the Basement

by , posted on Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 at 8:25 pm

Okay, it’s a finished basement, nice cozy furniture, big screen TV, great place to ride out a bad storm. Tornado warning in effect until 9 p.m. National Weather Service says the storm should hit this town – Geneva – at around 8:20 p.m.

With all the truly destructive tornados lately, I think we’re all taking these warnings a little more seriously.

Okay, having just typed that I went to take a look at the south – this storm is blowing from south to north, somewhat unusual for this area, usually we get west to east. Watched a wall of clouds just roll over in a matter of minutes. Instant dark. Will be back with more if there is more.

Update: It’s 8:53 p.m., which puts us seven minutes short of the tornado warning ending, but the worst of this storm has blown past – still raining like crazy, lots of thunder and lighting, but the wall-o-wind is past…lots of small tree branches, and one bigger one, down in the yard.

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