Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts

Monday, March 31, 2008

April Theme Day: Water....The Floodwaters of the Mighty Mississippi

Mississippi River at Flood stage 2
Mississippi River at Flood stage 3
Mississippi River at Flood stage

For the April theme day of "Water", I had visions of posting one of my several favorite, most beautiful Memphis water features. But, the current flooding of the Mississippi River is quite compelling, and was the natural choice for me for Theme Day. This past weekend, the river crested at over 37 feet (flood stage is 34 feet), with even more rain in the forecast this week for this entire region. You can see a photo of the beautiful Mississippi at her sparkling best linked in the paragraph below.


The first view is from Mud Island, looking south toward the M Bridge. This view is almost identical to the one I shared here, except I took the older photo from the tree line that you see currently under water in the newer photo above. The park bench that I shared here is currently under water, also.

The second photo shows the view across the Mississippi looking toward the river bank in Arkansas. The Mississippi at this point is almost a mile wide, so for it to rise as much as you can see in these photos, you can imagine the additional volume of water the river has gained in the past few weeks.

During the Great Flood of 1937 which set flood stage records here, my father (at age 11) went with his father to help sandbag the area at Front Street and Poplar Ave. We looked up the statistics on the flood stage in 1937, and that year the river was 11 feet higher than it is currently. He also said that there is nothing heavier than sandbags that have been sitting out in the rain.

All affected by the flooding this year are in our thoughts.

There are currently 178 blogs participating in this Theme Day. Please stop by each one for a visit and to enjoy their wonderful offerings:

theme day id=13
Adelaide, Australia by Gordon, Albuquerque (NM), USA by Helen, American Fork (UT), USA by Annie, Anderson (SC), USA by Lessie, Ararat, Australia by Digger, Arradon, France by Alice, Ashton under Lyne, UK by Pennine, Athens, Greece by Debbie, Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar, Austin (TX), USA by LB, Bandung, Indonesia by Guntur Purwanto, Barton (VT), USA by Andree, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro by Paja, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro by Bibi, Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA, Bicheno, Australia by Greg, Bogor, Indonesia by Gagah, Boston (MA), USA by Fenix - Bostonscapes, Boston (MA), USA by Sarah, Whit, & Leyre, Boston (MA), USA by Cluelessinboston, Brighton, UK by Harvey, Brookville (OH), USA by Abraham, Budapest, Hungary by Zannnie and Zsolt, Budapest, Hungary by Isadora, Canterbury, UK by Rose, Cape Town, South Africa by Kerry-Anne, Chandler (AZ), USA by Melindaduff, Chateaubriant, France by Bergson, Cheltenham, UK by Marley, Chicago (IL), USA by b.c., Christchurch, New Zealand by Michelle, Clearwater (FL), USA by Smaridge01, Clearwater Beach (FL), USA by Smaridge01, Cleveland (OH), USA by iBlowfish, Coral Gables (FL), USA by Jnstropic, Cypress (TX), USA by Riniroo, Dallas/Fort Worth (TX), USA by A Wandering Soul, Dunedin (FL), USA by Smaridge01, Durban, South Africa by CrazyCow, East Gwillimbury, Canada by Your EG Tour Guide, Evry, France by Olivier, Glasgow, Scotland by Jackie, Greenville (SC), USA by Denton, Grenoble, France by Bleeding Orange, Guelph, Canada by Pat, Gun Barrel City (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Hamilton, New Zealand by Sakiwi, Hampton (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Haninge, Sweden by Steffe, Helsinki, Finland by Kaa, Hobart, Australia by Greg, Hyde, UK by Old Hyde, Inverness (IL), USA by Neva, Jackson (MS), USA by Halcyon, Jakarta, Indonesia by Santy, Jefferson City (MO), USA by Chinamom2005, Jogjakarta, Indonesia by Jogja Portrait, Joplin (MO), USA by Victoria, Juneau (AK), USA by Gwyn, Katonah (NY), USA by Inkster1, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Edwin, Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine, Lake Forest Park (WA), USA by Azure, Larchmont (NY), USA by Marie-Noyale, Las Vegas (NV), USA by Mo, Lisbon, Portugal by Sailor Girl, Lisbon, Portugal by Maria João, Lodz, Poland by ritalounge, London, UK by Mo, London, UK by Ham, Mainz, Germany by JB, Maple Ridge, Canada by Susan, Marseille, France by Alex, Mazatlan, Mexico by Kate, Melbourne, Australia by John, Melbourne, Australia by Mblamo, Memphis (TN), USA by SouthernHeart, Menton, France by Jilly, Mexico City, Mexico by Carraol, Mexico City, Mexico by Poly, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Greg, Minsk, Belarus by Olga, Monrovia (CA), USA by Keith, Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly, Montego Bay, Jamaica by Ann, Monterrey, Mexico by rafa, Moscow, Russia by Irina, Mumbai, India by Magiceye, Mumbai, India by MumbaiiteAnu, Mumbai, India by Kunalbhatia, Nancy, France by yoshi, Naples (FL), USA by Isabella, Nashville (TN), USA by Chris, Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben, New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser, New York City (NY), USA by Ming the Merciless, Niamey, Niger by Dinabee, Norfolk (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Norman (OK), USA by Chad & LaCresha, Norwich, UK by Goddess888, Nottingham, UK by Gail's Man, Odense, Denmark by ania odense, Omsk, Russia by Nataly, Orlando (FL), USA by OrlFla, Oslo, Norway by Lothiane, Paderborn, Germany by Soemchen, Paris, France by Eric, Paris, France by Gordio, Pasadena (CA), USA by Can8ianben, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by Murphy_jay, Pilisvörösvár, Hungary by Elise, Pont-à-Mousson, France by Tintin-j, Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar, Port Elizabeth, South Africa by Sam, Port Townsend (WA), USA by raf, Port Vila, Vanuatu by Mblamo, Portland (ME), USA by Corey, Portland (OR), USA by NWgal, Portsmouth (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Prague, Czech Republic by Honza03, Quincy (MA), USA by Cluelessinboston, Riga, Latvia by Prokur, Rotterdam, Netherlands by Ineke, Saarbrücken, Germany by LadyDemeter, Saigon, Vietnam by Simon, Saint Louis (MO), USA by Strangetastes, Saint Paul (MN), USA by Kate, Salem (OR), USA by jill, Salt Lake City (UT), USA by Eric, Salt Lake City (UT), USA by atc, San Diego (CA), USA by Felicia, San Francisco (CA), USA by PFranson, Seattle (WA), USA by Chuck, Seattle (WA), USA by Kim, Seguin (TX), USA by Thien, Selma (AL), USA by RamblingRound, Sequim (WA), USA by Eponabri, Sesimbra, Portugal by Aldeia, Setúbal, Portugal by Maria Elisa, Shanghai, China by Jing, Sharon (CT), USA by Jenny, Singapore, Singapore by Keropok, Sofia, Bulgaria by Antonia, St Francis, South Africa by Sam, Stavanger, Norway by Tanty, Stayton (OR), USA by Celine, Stockholm, Sweden by Stromsjo, Stouffville, Canada by Ken, Subang Jaya, Malaysia by JC, Suffolk (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Sunshine Coast, Australia by bitingmidge, Sydney, Australia by Nathalie, Sydney, Australia by Sally, Székesfehérvár, Hungary by Teomo, Tacloban City, Philippines by agnesdv, Terrell (TX), USA by Bstexas, Terrell (TX), USA by Jim K, The Hague, Netherlands by Lezard, Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine, Toruń, Poland by Torun Observer, Toulouse, France by Julia, Turin, Italy by Livio, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina by Jazzy, Twin Cities (MN), USA by Slinger, Victoria, Canada by Benjamin Madison, Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2, Virginia Beach (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Wailea (HI), USA by Kuanyin, Washington (DC), USA by Rachel, Wassenaar, Netherlands by Rich, Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb, West Paris (ME), USA by crittoria, West Sacramento (CA), USA by Barbara, Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto, Williamsburg (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Willits (CA), USA by Elaine, Yardley (PA), USA by Mrlynn,

Saturday, March 8, 2008

John Gray Historic House, Germantown

The J0hn Gray House is one of our favorite historic places, and is open to visitors several times a year. It is located in Germantown Municipal Park, right next to the Germantown Centre. Edited to add: Does this house look a bit tilted to you? You can see, from the level nature of the steps and the upright growth of the trees, that the photo was taken straight-on. Maybe someone who knows a bit more about building and architecture can shed some light on this.

The historic marker below gives more information than I could find in any other sources. Please click on the photo(s) to see an enlarged version.
Here are a couple of photos of Miss Daisy enjoying the snow. She loved it, and spent a lot of time running circles around the yard and rolling in it.

Here are a few more photos taken in our yard....
I hope that you're having a delightful weekend!

Friday, March 7, 2008

Snow Day...

Well, so much for our early Spring! Old Man Winter decided to show us that he still technically has domain over the season for the next two weeks...and to tell you the truth, I'm almost giddy. DS was thrilled just to get out of school two hours early, and is playing outside with Miss Daisy right now. We don't get as much snow in Memphis as we did about twenty years ago, and this snow is a pretty one. It is still snowing right now, and we are expected to receive about 3-4" here.

I couldn't decide which one photo I wanted to share, so I'm sharing two today. I thought that this Redbud looked pretty against the snow. Can you see the nest tucked in the crook of the branches?
I hope that you're having a nice start to your weekend! I will share some more snow photos tomorrow (including some of Miss Daisy).
Please click on the photo to see an enlarged version.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

After the storm...


My photos today are courtesy of my sweet husband. I had to work a long day today, and he had access to some areas that had sustained damage but were closed off to the general public, and he took photos for all of us to see. The sign above somehow made me think that Mother Nature has a bit of a wry, if not ironic, sense of humor.



The photos just above show an industrial area, and a closeup and wide view of the Hickory Ridge Mall in Memphis, which was struck by the tornado last night. That is what is left of the Sears building, which is one of the anchor stores for the mall. This mall is where DH and I met 26 years ago (I worked for him...long story... :) , so even though we don't visit there often, it is a special place for us.

One thing that we've noticed about natural disaster damage photos is that they never seem to show the true scale and impact of some of the damage. There is just something about seeing it in person that takes your breath away. My son said the same thing about the devastation in the New Orleans area. I have all of the photos in an album...if you wish to see any additional photos you can see them here

There is a lot of damage around town, and also in the Jackson, TN area, and this was definitely one of the most active storm systems I've seen in my lifetime of living here. We are blessed to have gotten through it personally unscathed, and our hearts and prayers go out to all who were directly affected by the storms.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Stormy Weather


Well, today's photo is quite a contrast to the on I posted yesterday, isn't it? We are currently under a Tornado Warning, meaning that funnel clouds have been sighted within our area...the last one sighted being one block from our house. I wanted to post this while we still have power and internet, as we are still in the line of more storms coming from Mississippi.

I've lived here my entire lifetime, and I have never seen a weather system this active. Tornado Warnings aren't rare, but today---the first time ever---the weather service issued a "Tornado Emergency", meaning extensive storms and grave risk are imminent. There have been at least six tornado sightings within the Memphis Metro area over the past two hours, with damage reported at Hickory Ridge Mall in SE Memphis, in the airport area, in the Bartlett area, and also in the Oxford, MS area.

As much as I love trying to get unique photos for you, :) I didn't venture out into the storm to try to catch a tornado in all of its digital glory. We spent an hour huddled in our interior guest bath, Miss Daisy included, instead.

I hope that all of you in the line of this storm front are safe and sound tonight!