I am watching closely. Looks like we could get it all here in SW okc. Today however is beautiful, the calm before the storms?

stockergal

Yup, I just came in form moving about three tons of well composted stall muck to one of my oldest plots. That stuff smells great. It has been slow composting for about two years. Gonna grow some great corn there next year.

We were flooded in all day yesterday. Haven't checked today. But we've never seen water levels as high since moving here in 2005. About 2 miles away an earthen dam broke and washed over a highway (water levels higher than the cars). It took out a bunch of fences, wood piles, equipment and hit a house, which fortunately stood.

George

George,

I have read a few stories about earth dams beyond their service life. I understand Oklahoma has its fair share of them.

One of the criteria I used to find my current house was high ground so I wouldn't have to worry about flood.

Johnny

George, I hope y'all are far enough away from the Illinois River that tonight's epic and historic crest won't send water your way. I've been worried about all of you up there in NE and E OK as we sat here and watched your rainfall totals, and the creeks. rivers, lakes rising ever higher.

Johnny, We chose high ground too, even though there was a really low-lying piece of riverfront property we really loved and wanted to buy instead of this place. If we'd bought it, we would have had to build a house on stilts or something and even then, I think the river might have carried it away this past spring and possibly back in 2007 as well. So, even though we are in a creek hollow at our place, we are still substantially higher than the creek itself and water, even with a foot of rainfall in one day, has never come remotely close to rising enough to reach the house. Historically, our creek has risen high enough to flood the roadway bridge over it a few times, but that hasn't happened since we moved here, and I hope it never does. I think the current bridge and roadway likely sit a few feet higher than they did in the 1940s-50s. We still sit probably 10' higher than that bridge, so I think we're good.

This has been the craziest Christmas weather I've ever seen in the USA---just imagine....record heat in the northeast, tornadoes in the south and in the southern plains, heavy rainfall and record flooding in many places, a Christmas wildfire in California, and this huge snow/sleet/ice storm that has hit many states including OK, TX, KS and CO.....and then is hitting further south and east as rain, more flooding and tornadoes. It kinda makes one long for a plain old boring White Christmas without the drama of excessive rain, wind, snow, severe weather or even extreme heat. I guess El Nino doesn't do things in a mild and moderate way.

The year-end rainfall totals at our OK Mesonet stations are going to be incredible. In our county we're over 77", roughly double our annual rainfall, and Stigler, sometime today, is likely to set a new all-time Oklahoma annual rainfall record. Hopefully the precipitation ends soon before the numbers climb even higher.

Year-To-Date Rainfall

We are going to go into planting season incredibly wet, which isn't going to be good for all our root crops like onions and taters.

Dawn

Dawn,

I am currently working on a plan to create raised rows at two of our gardens in January. I only need a few dry days to get it done. I think I'll try for at least 12 inches high this year.

I rough plowed a lot of new land in the Fall so the Winter rain could soak in. I'm guessing this will be a good year for our potatoes because that plot is very well drained by very good loam soil and a gentle (uniform) slope. That slope was planted with my lister planter. So it will capture water every four feet as the water runs down the slope. Almost like mini swales perpendicular to the slope. I doubt we will need to water the potatoes this year.

Johnny

Our excessive rain was followed by a little sleet and then a little snow, but it has all finally stopped. Our yard has looked like a lake for days, and we got water on our bunkhouse floor, but feel very fortunate. Our son's family was in the bunkhouse so most of them moved into the house with us, so we have had people on cots and couches for a few days. We still have power so we are nice and warm.

Grand Lake normal elevation is 742 with a flood control pool to 755. It is now at 753.70 even with 9 tainter gates open to 15 feet and 4 gates open to 25 feet. The order has been given to people below the dam to prepare to evacuate. Pensacola Dam

soonergrandmom,

What a nasty time to evacuate!

Johnny

Yeh Really bad. Glad ya'll have power, Carol.

bon

We had a lot of rain, little ice and a little snow so we saw it all. I guess we were lucky compared to some of you. I am so glad the storm is over. I don't know what it is about winter storms but I get so stressed and walk the floor for days. I think I've been up and walking since Christmas day, still don't know what my walking and hand wringing is supposed to accomplish but I do it anyway?

Took my 4yr old grandson sledding behind the house. It was great sledding snow, a little icy. It was so cold but he doesn't care. He and mama stayed with us last night so Pop could get her to work( she works at the hospital and they can't shut down for anything). They take the one ton four wheel drive flat bed farm truck, it's quite a site at the hospital for sure but they all know who has arrived, Ha Ha

i don't know about anyone else but I am ready for SUMMER!!!!! I just hate the cold. I don't know what I will do with a really cold winter. The Florida Keys are looking better all the time, I will just pack up donkeys,dogs,grandson,daughter and hubby and off we go. Anybody else?

Johnny,

That sounds great and I hope it works out exactly the way you think it will.

Fred and I had a conversation last week about his garden performance vs. mine in 2015, especially in spring/early summer with all the rain. My raised beds absolutely did exactly as expected and we had a very productive garden overall. Fred planted at grade level and had perhaps his worse garden ever. He is just totally disgusted with his soil at this point---it is heavy clay and didn't really drain at all during all that rain so everything pretty much failed. When Fred left our neighborhood the other day he was headed north to look for some stuff to improve his garden soil before spring---I think he was off in search of pecan hulls as they worked well for him in the past. I hope I have his energy when I'm 94!!!!!

Carol, When I saw the news about them opening the flood gates this morning, I was horrified. I know they have to do it, but it will impact so many people who are in areas that are, shall we say, flood plains....or will be flood plains now even if they haven't really been flood plains before. Historic flooding is occurring and that's the sort of history we must hope will not repeat itself again anytime soon. Outside OK, the mighty Mississippi is on track to have some mighty strong flooding too, so it isn't just us....and look at Arkansas! They don't need any more rain either.

Stockergal, Unsettled weather makes me unsettled too, and I've never been through the personal destruction of a tornado the way you have. I think maybe it is the knowledge of what is likely to happen to somebody somewhere with the approaching/ongoing weather even if it isn't going to hit us very hard. Tim went in to work on his day off last night and helped run the airport's EOC for 12 hours overnight and I don't think the snow and sleet even made it to DFW Airport, but they still had some weather-related issues to deal with. I was glad when he made it home this morning, but he said the roads weren't bad at all until he got a couple of miles from our house. He had gotten off I-35 at Exit 1 and took Hwy 77 because we had so many wrecks and vehicles that had slid off the interstate and he wanted to avoid getting hung up in that.

I won't say I'm ready for summer but I am counting the days until spring. For me, the difference is that spring is milder and we usually get some rain. In summer, the rain often just stops one day and that's it for a couple of months. It makes gardening more challenging when the rain doesn't fall. Honestly, after the last couple of days, I'll be thrilled just to see a day with a 50-degree high temperature and nothing falling from the sky.

We had about a million and one goldfinches today and I had food out everywhere for them. It was fun watching them all. We had dozens and dozens at a time.

Dawn