The Weather Here

I am not really sure where to begin with this post. Many parts of our country are experiencing flooding just as we are here in Iowa. After the floods of '93 I was not certain I would see such a sight again in my lifetime. Yet here we are. Over the past couple days the flood waters reaching into Des Moines have continued to rise.
Surprisingly to me, Des Moines seems to be presenting a certain amount of reserve in this crisis. In '93 the local news reporters did not help the situation with their "the sky is falling mentality." Some how it's different this time. The storys are more positive. We are hearing more about how people are pulling together. And I sit here in front of my TV amazed. Is it just that we have been through this before.

In '93 one local broadcaster rented a helicopter to present aerial views of the Des Moines Water Works. I learned about the helicopter because they advertised it all over the place. "We're your first eye in the Sky" "Join our top anchor for a new angle on the '93 floods". I thought it was funny that they had to put their top male anchor in the helicopter. Post flood the network in question purchased their own helicopter. Strangely Mr. Top Anchor was grounded and to my knowledge he has not been back up. Of course that could change at any point now. "Gimme that mic buddy I'm moving in." Ok I know I'm getting a bit silly here.

Truthfully as I said. I am amazed at how level headed the media and the general public have been.

However you can't leave out the looky-loo's along the I80/I35 intersate. There is a long streach of flooded land on both sides of the intersate. It goes on for miles. And everybody feels the need to sssssslllllllooooowwwwww down. I personally know of two people involved in accidents and I nearly was too. So lets rank Mr looky-loo up there with this past winters Mr Invicible shall we.

Along the south side of the intersate is the Des Moines Girls League softball fields. Now if you look at the picture below the water looks pretty high. As of this morning you could only see the roof. That pink wall is nowhere in site. Perhaps worth noting is that mile 7 of the Dam to Dam race is located about 400 feet south of this building. Placing the road under about 6-8 feet of water. Hard to beleive I just ran on it only a couple weeks ago.



This picture is from the town of Cedar Rapids. From the looks of it their downtown district appears to be getting hit harder than ours...so far. Can you imagine Cinderella Castle at the end of this main street?



Now I do want be serious for a moment and mention some sad news that occured early last night. Just outside of Omaha in Iowa is the Little Sioux Boy Scout camp.
A tornado developed nearby and before the scouts had any real warning it was upon them. Four young men lost their lives and many others were injured. This is certainly a tragedy and my heart goes out to the families. Amazingly the other scouts had the presence of mind to look after and care for each other in an amazing way while rescue workers had to cut through trees just to reach them. I feel that I could not do the story true justice. So I am pasting a few links below for those of you interested in learning more.

On a trainng note. June is really turning into a bust. I had wanted to go out tonight but for the past few hours my stomach has been telling me no. Not sure why but I am not going to risk it. Here are those links.

Severe Weather In Iowa

Boy Scout tells of surviving Little Sioux tornado

Some Thoughts on the Tragedy at Little Sioux