The Mighty “Mississip”, Snow Melt Begins

The river is still rising. Currently at 20.4 feet expected to crest at well over 21 feet. Depending on where you are along this section of the Mississippi, it leaves it banks anywhere from 16′ to 18′. Therein lies the problem when you are over 20′ of flood stage.

The biggest concern now is tomorrow – rain storm possible with flash flooding – really. There is no where for the flash flood to go, it will just add to the flood already in progress. Lets put this into scientific facts for you. The Mississippi’s current water flow on an average(no flood) day is 2 million cubic feet per second…per second! Okay, lets try to bring that better into perspective. There are 7.489 gallons per cubic foot which weigh 62.4 lbs. A 48′ long semi truck trailer holds 3,600 cubic feet. To boil it all down – its a lot of water. Some of the smaller communities along the river in this area that rely on their wells for water can not longer use their wells due to the flooding. So they basically have no water.  I am reminded of a phrase – Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.

I am still amazed that currently, the trains are still running but I hear that is going to change soon if the water keeps rising. And it looks like it probably will.

I went onto the walkway of the bridge to get these shots. Yes – I walked, yea me. For those who are new to my postings, I am recovering from foot surgery.

Below is the one shot I really wanted to get. I just have my phone camera so I can’t do long distances but that concrete building beyond the ball field is the back of a bandstand and there are outdoor chairs bolted down to a concrete pad to watch the band with a dance pad between the chairs and the band stand. The chairs are totally under water.

So always be aware of what water can do. Even the tiniest leak can be a real headache. But I learned when young and living in Florida that water can be a beast to reckon with. Please keep these communities along this river in your prayers. This is a LONG river and the further south it goes the wider it gets. They are telling us this amount of flood stage will be with us for awhile.

And I close with good thoughts of sharing kindness, even when life gets tough. There is always room for sharing God’s light in kindness. It may be the one spark of love that person may see that day.