IAchaser.com

As you can tell, I’ve done a bit of updating around the ol site this weekend.  Having been with the original theme since I changed to a blog style website, I figured it was about time for a change.  This theme is a lot more friendly on my end and looks a tad cleaner as well.  I hope you all enjoy it!

Every where you look and turn to this weekend, the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is thrown in your face.  Well, I decided to hop on the bang wagon as well!   Here’s a link to a slide show I put together via powerpoint showcasing part of the EMS response to the gulf coast. The slide show is best viewed in IE.  Here’s another link to my pics on Flickr from my 2 week stint down there.

Speaking of hurricanes, thanks to 2 High’s in the eastern US, Hurricane’s Danielle and Earl are being deflected away from the US.  Things do look to be picking up however in the Atlantic as we head into the peak of hurricane season.

Locally, things are finally beginning to dry out.  Many places that have been lakes most of the summer due to the heavy rains are actually draining and drying up.  Many farmers across the state of lost many crops this year due to the near record rainfall.  Let’s hope they all have insurance.

2010 is going down in the record books as one of the wettest years on record. NWS DMX today issued a record statement, stating that 2010 in Des Moines is the wettest year on record, with records going back to 1878. As of this morning, Des Moines has received a whopping 40.64″ of liquid precip this year.

Like many of the previous months, August is continuing with the very wet tradition.  Below is a map showing rainfall thru 8 August.  Of course, several places received another 3-6″ of rain last night, since this map was generated. Map is courtesy the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

After almost 12″ of rain in many places this week, the Skunk River and 4 Mile Creek have gone over their respective banks in a big way.  This morning, both rivers caused massive flooding around the Central Iowa area.  Ames, Iowa is currently a complete mess, as flood waters have over taken the city by storm (no pun intended).  Hilton Coliseum in Ames (home of Iowa State) is currently experiencing massive flooding, with approx 5′ of water inside the building.  I-35 is closed just south of Ames due to flooding, along with numerous other roads in Central Iowa.  As many remember, 1993 was another impressive year for flooding.  Believe it or not, the floods of August 2010 have surpassed the record crests of several rivers.  Below is the latest (as of this entry) hydro information and outlook for the Skunk River at Ames. As you can see, the old record has been surpassed.   Adding insult to injury, this afternoon, Ames lost it’s water supply.  A major water main break under Squaw Creek forced the city to shut down it’s water plant.

Further down stream of Ames, Colfax is also facing it’s worst flood ever.  Colfax was one of many communities that faced flooding in 1993.  This year, like Ames, new records are being set.  The Skunk River has risen so high, it has topped the levees protecting the town.  I-80 is threatened also near Colfax.  Below is the latest info and prediction for the Skunk River at Colfax. (As of this writing).

Several other streams, rivers, tributaries are under Flood Warnings around the area.  On a sad note, 1 life was lost this morning near Altoona, Iowa, as 3 cars full of teenagers were swept off a country road by rushing flood waters.

On top of all the water, the airmass over the Central US has been, well tropical.  High’s ranging in the 90′s with dews in the upper 70′s to near 80 at times.  If I wanted to live in a rainforest/tropical climate, I’d move there. We can only hope we dry out soon!

This afternoon I made a quick jaunt over to Red Rock Dam to see what the situation looked like. As you may or may not know, rains have swollen the lake to an almost record high level. The Corps of Engineers has increased the outflow of the dam by opening 3 of the giant gates. Below is a few pics and a short video taken with my DSLR.