Breaking - heavy flooding in six Midwest states

[malaise]

Well at least the drought should end

Barges sunk - some hit a bridge (which was checked and re-opened).

[mindem]

1. Poor Fargo is in for a real mess this spring.

They say this year could be a record flood and it's raining and snowing again today - at least in my neck of the woods.

[malaise]

2. Record floods must be serious

since you have floods every year -stay safe
When will it stop snowing?

[mindem]

3. I think it is just a little front going thru.

The temps are supposed to get up to around 60 degrees by the end of the week and that will really accelerate the snow melt. I live to the east and won't be in any danger but folks in Fargo have been filling sandbags for quite a while now. Over a million bags!!!

[malaise]

4. Flooding around the Red River?

Hope those folks will be safe

[mindem]

6. Yes

It's both the Red River and the Sheyenne River that hit Fargo. It's kind of weird that we need the moisture but not the flooding. Parts of the Mississippi are so low that they have been closed to shipping - we need the water but not all at once.

[malaise]

9. That's always the hardest thing to balance

Same with us - we need the tropical storms but hate the hurricanes

[malaise]

14. Just saw this

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/396750/group/news/
<snip>
Weather service predicts Red River in Fargo to crest at 39 to 41 feet; 40 percent chance of setting record
FARGO – Forecasters are advising flood fighters to prepare for a Red River crest here between 39 and 41 feet, with a predicted midrange crest of 40.3 feet.

FARGO – Forecasters on Wednesday advised flood fighters to prepare for a new record crest on the Red River here, with a predicted range of 39 to 41 feet.

That would mean a mid-range crest prediction of 40.3 feet, but forecasters cautioned that the range could be as wide as 38 feet to 42 feet, according to a new prediction released Wednesday by the National Weather Service.

[HereSince1628]

5. Flooding is concentrated in IL, WI, MI, IA, IN, and MO

http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=flood&r=us&w=real%2Cmap

The drought remains over ~1/2 the country mostly west of the mid Missouri
http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=dryw&r=us&w=flood%2Cmap

[malaise]

7. Damn the drought remains but won't this

help Ole man River

[HereSince1628]

13. It won't help most of the wheat belt, won't help the Missouri R

The north central region of the corn (maize) belt is too wet to work. The last 2 weeks have been mud-time, where the deep ground is frozen and the top is way too soggy to work.

Most of the flooding from the Rock and Illinois R drainange is going to be moving into the mid Mississippi starting this week.

[malaise]

15. Thanks HereSince1628

[hedgehog]

8. From the Onion:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/jesus-this-week,32105/

[malaise]

10. LOL

“Can you believe this? Can you honestly believe the kind of piece-of-shit week we’re having here?”
Isn't that the effing truth!!

[KharmaTrain]

11. The Worst Was Thursday...

...we took about 5 inches of rain in the Chicago area on Wednesday that overflowed the creeks and rivers. I have a lot of FB photos of flooded streets and basements from friends...the sewer systems were overwhelmed. Part of the problem has been the overbuilding on floodplanes and wetlands so that water run-off into those streams are a lot more intense than they were 20 years ago. All that water went into the Illinois and now the Mississippi Rivers and creating lots of "fun" for our friends in Quincy and points south.

As far as the drought...it's helped but a farmer friend says that they don't need 5 inches at one time, they need one inch of good soaking rain over 5 days...all at once is just as bad as none at all...

[malaise]

12. I saw something on that with roads collapsing

and worry about that invasive Asian fish. Stay safe - hopefully we'll have some rain next month.

[KharmaTrain]

16. Asian Carp...

...have been a problem in the Illinois River for a while. Those are the fish that jump all over the place when disturbed (boat motors)...they're trying to keep them from getting into the Great Lakes. The fish are a nuisance here but are in demand in Japan...so they're trying to set up a new fishing industry here to catch and export those things.

Here's a pic of a favorite Hot Dog place in Downers Grove:



Looks like we'll need a boat to go through the drive-thru...

[malaise]

18. Damn

that's a lot of water

[mindem]

17. That fish is a real problem too

[link:http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishingreport/snakehead.html|

[malaise]

19. We have one in the Caribbean sea devouring indigenous reef fish

The Lionfish
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717164319.htm
The invasion of predatory lionfish in the Caribbean region poses yet another major threat there to coral reef ecosystems -- a new study has found that within a short period after the entry of lionfish into an area, the survival of other reef fishes is slashed by about 80 percent.

Aside from the rapid and immediate mortality of marine life, the loss of herbivorous fish also sets the stage for seaweeds to potentially overwhelm the coral reefs and disrupt the delicate ecological balance in which they exist, according to scientists from Oregon State University.

Following on the heels of overfishing, sediment depositions, nitrate pollution in some areas, coral bleaching caused by global warming, and increasing ocean acidity caused by carbon emissions, the lionfish invasion is a serious concern, said Mark Hixon, an OSU professor of zoology and expert on coral reef ecology.