anybody gettin' the nasty (east coast) weather?

[44trxfun]

anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

Our Buffalo NY NWS keeps revising the forecast and adding warnings and watches, now including a tornado watch in central NY. Anybody had any of this storm yet and can give us a heads-up what to expect?

 

[bczoom]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

There was a large, narrow band that passed through Western NY and PA this morning.

We're getting some small strong cells blossoming around Pittsburgh but otherwise, that band from this morning is now in the mid-state areas. In NY, B'Ham and Syracuse are about to get it.

Brian

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

What we're getting is rain. And more rain. And, a little extra rain, just in case we need it. And some more rain for good measure. Out in Okeechobee, 5-1/2" last Tuesday, 3" more on Wednesday, 1" more on Thursday. then I came home. But, my son-in-law told me there was a gully washer on Friday, more rain on Saturday and Sunday, and it's raining right now.

We have flood gates that control how deep the highway swale gets. When they open the gates, Lake Okeechobee gets too full, and more gates have to be opened to let some freshwater run to the coasts and dilute the saltwater estuaries. So, they don't like to do that. The result is that the highway swale backs up and floods everyone's property.

Here's a few pictures from last Wednesday -- it was much worse on Thursday, and completely flooded out by Friday. This one is of the highway swale backing up into my property. The little tongue of dirt is where I'm starting to build up the low edge to prevent it from backing up. There's a lot more dirt there than shows, but it has to come several inches higher to be effective.

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

This picture shows more of the dirt I'm piling up to keep the highway water out. When I get enough of it moved, I'll use the box blade to level it. Compacting it with the weight of the tractor should be enough; it will eventually settle.

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

This is where I'm getting the dirt. It's full of weeds, but it was free -- when the state cleaned out the ditches last year, I had them dump it on my property. We have plenty of herbicide (RoundUp-type stuff) to get control of the weeds once it's spread.

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

This is near the front of my place; the water here is just from the rain, not from overflow from the highway. By Friday, the grass was no longer visible. This is one of the high spots on the property (except for the road and house and barn pads, which have been raised).

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

A week ago, the water table was so low the pond was 4' lower. After a couple of good days of rain, it's full. By Friday it was up to the brim, and by Saturday it had flooded over. The house pad is in the background, in front of the oaks. It's 30" higher than the surrounding area and stayed dry.

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

This is the lowest spot on my driveway, and still floods. I'll build it up a little more before we put the shell rock layer on top. The shell rock will raise the entire driveway another 6" and will be above the worst we've seen, plus the shell rock (like a crushed limestone) will stabilize the road.

 

[OkeeDon]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

Final picture is of the entrance I've been working on. I have the dirt built up and roughly leveled along the right side, and am building up the dirt on the left side. The center will not be flooded in the future because it will be built up with shell rock through the gate. The temporary gate is simply field fence that I roll back out of the way; there will be an automatic gate in the near future. The dirt areas on either side will be lushly landscaped and there will be boards between the fence posts after they have been trimmed for height.

I really can't do much more right now, however, because of all the water. Running the tractor over the wet sand creates a hydraulic pumping action, causing huge ruts in no time. Imagine the way your feet sink into the beach in the waves...

In the bext few weeks, we'll be completing a complete topographic map of the 5 acres, and will come up with a drainage plan to keep most of it dry unless there is a hundred-year storm.

 

[_RaT_]

Re: anybody gettin\' the nasty (east coast) weather?

It's been horrible out here in Northern California where I'm at. All sun and about 68 degrees with a slight wind.