Weather

[flyingcheesehead]

We've been hearing the stories from Diana and others about awful weather over the last several months...

Southern Wisconsin been getting nailed too. We shattered our previous record for snowfall (by about 50%! ) and it seems like we're getting nothing but thunderstorms since the snow finally melted.

So far this week, some areas have gotten over 10" of rain.

I-94 was closed because the Rock River couldn't stay under the bridge where it belongs. Same for highway 16.

Near Wisconsin Dells, Lake Delton drained the other day. The dam held, but the land a little ways away gave way and the lake overflowed slightly, carved itself a channel, and departed into the Wisconsin River in just a couple of hours, taking several large houses with it:

You've probably all heard about the boy scout tornado in Iowa by now, and now I'm sitting on the screen porch listening to a tornado that's headed towards Stoughton, which just got smacked by one a couple years ago. Seems half the midwest is flooded.

Is it just me, or is the weather getting noticeably worse this year, and the last couple (hurricanes, etc.)?

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Oh, and the political cartoon in the paper the other day showed Noah, in front of the Ark, saying "And just to be on the safe side, give me two brats, two beers, and a pair of Packers tickets."

 

[Jim Burns]

I can't get over how slow some of the pressure systems are moving across the country this spring. That High that's sitting off the east coast has every weather system that comes along stalling out and taking up residence in the midwest. It seems we get a new Low pressure/cold front/leading warm front/triple point work it's way from Nebraska/Kansas up through Iowa and into Wisconsin about every 3 days.

Earlier this year, there was a huge Low parked up in Canada that that flattened out the jet stream and swirled cold Canadian air down into MN/WI for weeks.

The only good thing about any of it is that I'm getting my moneys worth out of all my IFR chart and XM Weather subscriptions, not to mention that my IFR game is well up to speed.

 

[drizzt76]

I have not remembered so much adverse weather in such a short period of time. Not only record setting floods but tornado's all over the place. Central Iowa has been hit very hard by both. Seems like if the wind don't get you the water will!!! We just water proofed our basement this winter....the best $$$ we have ever spent on our house!!!

 

[flyingcheesehead]

The only good thing about any of it is that I'm getting my moneys worth out of all my IFR chart and XM Weather subscriptions, not to mention that my IFR game is well up to speed.

Ugh - I'm not. Well, the XM was useful this weekend, but I hardly flew at all Dec-Feb (ice, ya know) and my total flying for the year is way down.

 

[jmaynard]

I'm expecting to keep a close eye on the XM over the next week or so as I fly home...the last leg from Dallas or so to Iowa City, then on to Fairmont might get more interesting than I'd planned.

 

[nddons]

Near Wisconsin Dells, Lake Delton drained the other day. The dam held, but the land a little ways away gave way and the lake overflowed slightly, carved itself a channel, and departed into the Wisconsin River in just a couple of hours, taking several large houses with it:

For anyone who's taken their kids to the Wisconsin Dells, Lake Delton is the lake used by the Tommy Bartlett Show (waterski show, entertainment, etc.) Tommy Bartlett has had that show for 55 years. The lake drained itself in 2 hours. Yikes.

 

[AdamZ]

We saw the houses collapse in the Wisconson Dell's in the news here. What exactly are "the dells" is that where the farmer is from?

 

[flyingcheesehead]

We saw the houses collapse in the Wisconson Dell's in the news here. What exactly are "the dells" is that where the farmer is from?

No, that's where water parks are from.

Unfortunately, that entire area depends heavily on tourism. Until someone built the first indoor water park in WI Dells, the population of the city was about 15,000 (NOT including tourists - Mostly lifeguards and other park workers) in the summer, and 300 in the winter (most of whom worked at the Christmas Mountain ski resort). They're in for some even tougher economic times now...

And I'm supposed to be picking up a load over in Richfield and taking it to Oshkosh for a morning delivery. This should be fun:

Incident Type: Flooding
County: Fond du Lac
Roadway: USH 041N
Direction: NB/SB
Cross Street: Hickory Road
Lanes Affected: All lanes blocked (both directions)
Time Incident Occurred: 6:24:00 PM
Estimated Duration: unknown
Additional Info: Road closed due to flooding. No published detour route.

Incident Type: Flooding
County: Fond du Lac
Roadway: USH 041N
Direction: NB/SB
Cross Street: Closed from HWY 26 to HWY 49
Lanes Affected: All lanes blocked (both directions)
Time Incident Occurred: 7:30:00 PM
Estimated Duration: Unknown


URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE
WISCONSIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY GREEN BAY WISCONSIN
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI
830 PM CDT THU JUN 12 2008

...CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE...

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE
WINNEBAGO COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE. WINNEBAGO COUNTY
OFFICIALS REQUEST ALL CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH TO NOT
TRAVEL IN THE CITY LIMITS UNTIL FLOODWATERS SUBSIDE.

 

[Jim Burns]

Ugh - I'm not. Well, the XM was useful this weekend, but I hardly flew at all Dec-Feb (ice, ya know) and my total flying for the year is way down.

I've made trips across the pond to MI and back to WI two weekends in a row and each trip has involved thunderstorm avoidance and an instrument approach on one end or the other. Next trip planned for tomorrow evening and it looks like the same story going and coming. Last Sunday coming home I was greated with a nice 43 knot headwind over the lake... groundspeed of 117knots while burning 28gph, yippie.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

it must be sucking all the moisture out of our region and dumping it on others: usually we are at the start of our monsoon with pacific flows and cooling afternoon rains. It is 0% humidity and 105F today. The grass from last year is completely parched, as if it went through a dessication chamber three times....walk out in the field and it sounds like crunching snow underneath but its parched dry grass. Fire hazard extreme and the papers are full of stories about houses barely saved in the latest round. Flying in this afternoon you could see the huge tongue of last weeks' 55000 acre fire which came within 1/2mi of the airport.
We need some balance here! Prayers continue for the stormed areas as well as our scorched desert.

 

[Jay Honeck]

We're getting crushed here in Iowa City, as I suspect you may have seen on the Weather Channel.

Flood waters are rising at an incredible rate -- my son worked sand-bagging area businesses all day, only to be mandatorily evacuated as the flood waters rose.

The dam upstream from Iowa City has gone over the spillway for only the second time in history. In the Great Flood of '93, the water peaked at 28,000 cubic feet per second over the spillway. It's already exceeded that, and is now expected to peak at an incredible 55,000 cfps -- a flood of truly biblical proportions.

I-80 -- America's "Main Street" -- is now closed East of here. I-380 north is closed, too. We're slowly being cut off from the world.

Our hotel is still dry, but the predicted crest will bring the waters within 2 feet of our grade above sea level -- awfully close. And it's storming to beat the band, again. I've got some heavy equipment and an army of volunteers lined up for sand-bagging duty tomorrow, just in case the predictions are wrong. (They've been wrong every step of the way.)

The river isn't expected to crest for another five days. We're in for a very wild ride, I'm afraid...

 

[mikea]

For anyone who's taken their kids to the Wisconsin Dells, Lake Delton is the lake used by the Tommy Bartlett Show (waterski show, entertainment, etc.) Tommy Bartlett has had that show for 55 years. The lake drained itself in 2 hours. Yikes.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/search/dispatcher.front?target=multimedia&Query=lake+delton

 

[Skyhawk4754]

The weather in SW Minnesota has been weird too. Either the wind is blowing 30+ mph or it's raining. It's been a strugle to get up in the air. I made a road trip into South Dakota earlier this week, about 100 miles west and south of Sioux Falls. About 1/2 the fields did not get planted because of too much rain. It's been a lot cooler than normal too. The frost went so deep this winter that when it came out this spring it heaved up the roads so bad that some are closed.
I wish we could send some rain down to Texas where they need it. Prayers indeed are needed for the less fortunate.

 

[CJones]

I think the flood is worse than they were expecting in Des Moines. There have been tickers on all the local TV stations all day asking for people to come help fill sandbags. Local news is reporting that some places on Court Ave. in downtown have taken on water.

It's not nearly as bad as in Cedar Rapids, though. They're calling it a 500-year flood event there. (I didn't know the Native's were keeping weather records that long ago, though)

 

[skyflyer8]

I live northwest of Oshkosh far enough that we made it through unscathed today. Just run-of-the-mill rain showers.

Oshkosh, on the other hand, is pretty much under water as well as Fond du Lac to the south. Let's be glad it isn't AirVenture time. I can't even imagine what it would have been like for this to happen then!

The news has broken into regular programming for at least 4 hours this evening and is now broadcasting a news conference coming from Oshkosh. It is being called "unprecedented" flooding. Not only are many city streets closed, but so are major highways. Nearby, the town of Rosendale has become an island, making the route from Oshkosh to Madison impassable.

CRAZY!!! If the weather were not supposed to be so poor for flying tomorrow, I would definitely want to get up in the air and take a look at all this!

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps...2/OSH0101/80612168&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

 

[tonycondon]

Cedar Rapids is worse than 93. I hear the Science Center (with a Cherokee II sailplane hanging from the roof) is up to at least the first story in water. Hopefully the glider is dry.

I flew over Saylorville Dam today (north of Des Moines). Seeing the water going over the spillway was amazing. Im glad for just the thin layer of water in my basement. I can deal with some wet floors and whatnot. At least I dont have to canoe to work.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

the town of Rosendale has become an island, making the route from Oshkosh to Madison impassable.

Oh wonderful.

 

[wby0nder]

No, that's where water parks are from.

Unfortunately, that entire area depends heavily on tourism. Until someone built the first indoor water park in WI Dells, the population of the city was about 15,000 (NOT including tourists - Mostly lifeguards and other park workers) in the summer, and 300 in the winter (most of whom worked at the Christmas Mountain ski resort). They're in for some even tougher economic times now...


I for one would be far more interested in touring the dells now to see "The Once Magnificant Lake Vanished in Minutes"


My house near Ames IA is normally 3/4 of a mile from the Skunk River. Now it's about 60 yards. But I've got about 6 vertical feet of breathing room and it's a big flat valley so until we get another stationary front with nightly storms I don't have to worry. I did notice tonight that the basement is getting a trickle of water. Fortunately the sump I put in 10 years ago is doing the job

 

[KennyFlys]

From an AP story I read earlier:

"We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring," said Brian Pierce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Davenport. "We're in uncharted territory -- this is an event beyond what anybody could even imagine."

Hmmmm.... I guess he was sleeping during the summers of 1973 and 1993.

 

[jmaynard]

Damn. This is enough to make me glad I'm in Georgia at the moment, and not heading to the midwest till next week some time. My house is about 30 feet above the level of the lake it's nearby, so we're safe, but my CFI's house is on that same lake...

Here's hoping the rain quits soon, or moves where it's needed. I've driven the pieces of I-80 and I-380 Jay mentioned several times, and I'd never have thought they were subject to flooding under any circumstances.

 

[ScottM]

The Fox River is near flood stage here. Last night I had the Mike Andrews memorial power outage for about 9 hours. I was not here to enjoy it but I was told by those that were staying in my house it was a lot of fun.

This is just a continuation of the winter weather we had where it snowed every few days and never let up.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Cedar Rapids is worse than 93.

Cedar Rapids is... Just... Wow.

Despite knowing about the flooding, well, it was on my route and when I left Madison, most of my usual track through there was open (the exception being the north-south section of 151 on the east side of town) and so I planned on taking US 151 - IA 1 - US 30 - I-380 - I-80.

So, I stopped at the intersection of 151 and 1 only to find (via the IA DOT web site) that a section of 380 was now completely closed (it had been open, with left lane reserved for emergency vehicles). US 30 was closed from 1 to 380 as well.

So, I went for Business 151 to 380.

I almost made it... Just a couple of blocks before 380, it goes downhill and into the newly created Cedar Ocean.

After a while, I made it back onto Business 51 going the opposite direction, then onto IA 100 (?) and that made it to 380.

It's not until you're on 380 that you see the scope of the problem. It's BAD. Downtown Cedar Rapids is completely underwater, with the tall buildings, parking garages, etc. sticking up. I saw this a bit after sunset, and in the waning light that part of the city was completely dark. Thousands of houses are up to the top of their first floor windows in water. Street lights that normally hang above the roadway hang darkened only about two feet above the water (That'd be about 12 feet AGL of water, folks).

It was at this point that I wondered where I'd made the wrong turn for Cedar Rapids and ended up in Atlantis. There was a JB Hunt terminal with a bunch of trailers stranded - They'd at least been moved to the highest ground before the yard jockeys had to evacuate. Block after block, mile after mile of darkened, sunken ghost town. The only light I saw was a railroad crossing warning, barely above water, that somehow still had power but the sensor was underwater and shorted out. Four lonely red lights blinking in the darkness.

I finally made it to 30, and had to go nearly to Des Moines before I found a passable route down to I-80.

I'll try to get pictures if I get back through there during the day. It'll be Wednesday, though, and hopefully it'll have dried up a bit by then.

 

[ScottM]

I've made trips across the pond to MI and back to WI two weekends in a row and each trip has involved thunderstorm avoidance and an instrument approach on one end or the other. Next trip planned for tomorrow evening and it looks like the same story going and coming. Last Sunday coming home I was greated with a nice 43 knot headwind over the lake... groundspeed of 117knots while burning 28gph, yippie.

I have the cargo run up to Traverse city to fly on Sunday and am looking at either the Manitwoc crossing or going around. I do not want to be over the pond have to start dropping lower and diverting to avoid t-storm.

 

[kevin47881]

Be safe out there Kent.