Weather

They should have named Westby "Atlantis", because if we get much more rain, we are going under. This spring has been an almost unending stretch of very heavily-dumping storm systems. It is warm enough that we are in thunderstorm season. Now, instead of a large system that blankets the whole region, weather has become a game of Russian roulette. Maybe the thunderstorm will hit you, and maybe it won't.

So far, I'm glad I'm not playing with bullets, because we've gotten pounded. Last Saturday we had a storm system come through that produced a lot of lightening. On my way home from church I could see a fire in the distance, and of course, being the paparazzi that I am, drove down to take a picture of it.


The fire department was already there, and it turned out to be a tractor that had gotten struck out in a field. I came back later to take a picture of the aftermath, glad that I wasn't a tractor!


Sunday was a beautiful day, but by Monday we were back on the storm track again, and stayed there all week. Systems would roll in and roll out, with brief respites in between to stick our heads above water and gasp for air. On Friday, one of the systems brought a ferocious windstorm with it. I had to drive into Plentywood, and it felt like I would be blown off the road. The pond I went past had waves over a foot high. I would have taken a picture then, but didn't want to let go of the steering wheel, so I had to snap one on the way home when the wind had subsided to only a small hurricane. It blew down numerous trees, including one the next street over from my parents.

Then, we had another break. Sabbath was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm with just a hint of a breeze. Puffy clouds floating across a bright blue sky. Perfect. Each time, we're tempted to hope, "Surely, this is the harbinger of better things to come. If it only stays like this a few days, the ground can dry out a little." And every time, should we be so foolish as to give into those silly notions, our hopes are dashed.

Yesterday a series thunderstorms rolled in like no other we've had so far this year. It rained and rained, and then rained some more. Can't we share a little with some region that actually needs it? But no, it must all be dumped here, and evidently in a rather large hurry. I decided to drive to town right in the middle of it, and that was a very interesting trip.

A few hours later, on the way home, I got to experience the results of some of that rain. The roads were flooding over as the rain water flowed across the prairie and quickly filled up any available low spot. My road comes in between two ponds that last year were low puddles filled with cattails. Now they are becoming one big lake, and if we get too much more rain before it has a chance to drain away, I am going to find myself cut off from both directions. The other end of the road is flooded, too, but that's not standing water, it's run-off, so it would only cover the road for a short time.



And you thought you had to be rich to own your own island! Actually, it wouldn't be completely exclusive because I do have one neighbor on the stretch of road affected by this, but that's OK. My driveway is flooding, too, and if it gets much worse, I will be on a private island of my own.

Today is fairly nice again, as shown in the picture at the top of the page (my little homestead from a distance (looks better that way!)), but I'm not falling for the weather's coy little games anymore. I know that any moment we'll have another deluge. I think I need to get some snorkeling gear! Or grow gills. Or something.

The weather yesterday: