Flooding, droughts, etc. How is everyone doing?

[TravelingChris]

There are so many areas with flooding going on or had flooding last week.  We have been in a bad drought for months, and he asked me yesterday if we are still in drought- I just checked, and the answer is yes.  Minus 8 inches for the year.  Some nearby parts of my state are doing much worse too.  This is a big change from a few years ago, when we had enough rain a few years in a row to be considered a rainforest.  But one thing I have definitely learned living here is how changeable the weather is.

I really hope everyone is doing okay.

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by TravelingChris

[Faith-manor]

We are not having anything dangerous in my part of Michigan. Just weird. It may affect agriculture and Great Lakes water levels in 2024. Snowfall is less than usual, by a fair amount for December. If that trend continues throughout the winter, we won't have the snow pack we need by spring thaw. It could lead to drought, but it is too early to make predictions. It will be 49° on Christmas Day, 54° the next day which is very abnormal. This follows one of the driest Novembers in the last 130 years on the heals of a bit of a snow drought in 2022, the Canadian wildfires in May/June which brought a lot of smoke and ash, and an abnormally dry summer.

So we aren't locally experiencing any kind of scary, threatening weather conditions now, but those of us who really follow and support Michigan growers are feeling some uneasiness and hoping this changes very soon. I have been considering new ways of irrigating my summer garden using less water to get the job done. I may put drip hoses in my raised beds under white gossamer fabric to prevent evaporation, and run them exclusively at night on a timer which could lower the amount of water needed by quite a bit. We are on a well so usage is normally not a problem. However, if the future is a drier one, wells do stress in those scenarios.

I hope everyone is safe. I worry a lot about our Aussie friends since it is wildfire season there.

[TravelingChris]

Well, I know South Carolina had bad flooding, and also the Northeast last week.  CA this week.  I think there were record floods in part of Australia.  

And the stupid thing with our drought is that we have a water leak coming from the street down our driveway and a channel and then into a stream further off our property.  My dh notified the city two weeks ago, and yesterday, they acknowledged that they know, but nothing has been done so far.  I hope it doesn't get worse.  A few years ago, there was a water main break, and the repair people caused a geyser to rise up and then fall on our brick stairway- loosening the bricks.  I just don't want a repeat of that.

[Faith-manor]

7 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

Well, I know South Carolina had bad flooding, and also the Northeast last week.  CA this week.  I think there were record floods in part of Australia.  

And the stupid thing with our drought is that we have a water leak coming from the street down our driveway and a channel and then into a stream further off our property.  My dh notified the city two weeks ago, and yesterday, they acknowledged that they know, but nothing has been done so far.  I hope it doesn't get worse.  A few years ago, there was a water main break, and the repair people caused a geyser to rise up and then fall on our brick stairway- loosening the bricks.  I just don't want a repeat of that.

Wow! That is maddening. Irresponsible of the city, really irresponsible. Sigh. Bureaucrats: "We are in a drought! Everybody conserve water." Same bureaucrats: Wasting water by the tens of thousands of gallons.

 

[TravelingChris]

1 minute ago, Faith-manor said:

Wow! That is maddening. Irresponsible of the city, really irresponsible. Sigh. Bureaucrats: "We are in a drought! Everybody conserve water." Same bureaucrats: Wasting water by the tens of thousands of gallons.

 

And typically, my city is very, very responsive.  But we have had really cold weather spells, which means water breaks, and the utility and the city can't hire enough people.  We have a really low unemployment rate here, and unfortunately, just as in many places, the people who do things like repair pipes are getting older, and younger people aren't choosing those blue-collar occupations anymore.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

I'm in Queensland, Australia. We had a nasty storm a couple of days ago. We had water running down our inside walls. Not so good.

I'm in South-east Queensland, so I'm not directly affected by the cyclone or terrible floods further north. 

Storms, floods, bushfires, drought - it's all par for the course here. We don't get complacent, but it's just part of life here.

[Carrie12345]

So. Much. Rain. Not terribly dangerous (yet), but enough that we had some road closures the other day. More rain coming. 
 

DS (now 13) is so disappointed in the lack of snow. 

[Mom_to3]

We had a really nasty storm that caused a lot of damage recently - but our home was thankfully spared both wind and rain damage (we have very very tall trees around, so I always worry!). The weather the past few years has definitely been odd, and yes, very changeable here, too...

[Ausmumof3]

We have delightfully mild weather thankfully. Perth has been experiencing bushfires and some people lost houses just before Christmas. QLD as mentioned has flooding from the cyclone. There is no hot weather forecast at the moment for here.

[GoVanGogh]

Southern US - have been in a drought for the past few years with two summers of record heat and two winters of short but brutal record setting cold snaps. I still have peppers setting fruit in the garden. 

[Arctic Bunny]

Canadian Prairies - It’s remained above freezing. No snow. It’s lovely! But like Michigan, this is going to bite us in the butt in the not too distant future. So, you don’t want to say out loud how great the weather is. Maybe unusual or surprising….

[Mom_to3]

4 hours ago, Arctic Bunny said:

Canadian Prairies - It’s remained above freezing. No snow. It’s lovely! But like Michigan, this is going to bite us in the butt in the not too distant future. So, you don’t want to say out loud how great the weather is. Maybe unusual or surprising….

Exactly! I really did enjoy our mild winter last year, but...

[Wheres Toto]

I'm in NJ and we had really bad flooding the beginning of the week.   Tons of rain Monday, with flooding lasting until Wednesday/Thursday before receding.   A lot of road closures and a few power outages.   Now we are supposed to get heavy rain again possibly tonight but almost definitely Tuesday/Wednesday.    

Flooding is not super uncommon around here.  We live on a river (but way above it) that floods, and the Passaic River floods frequently but it's reaching places that haven't flooded before.   "50 year floods" are happening every 2-5 years.