Midwest Flooding/Rain Breaking Records

UPDATE: 7-1-14:

Storm-hit Chicago struggles with flooding, power outages

CHICAGO -- The city and region were recovering Tuesday after a major storm that included torrential rains and hurricane-like winds brought havoc to two of the nation's busiest airports and left thousands without power.

The storm system may have produced small tornadoes in areas south of Chicago, where there were widespread reports of downed trees and winds as high as 86 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

Parts of Interstate 190 near O'Hare International Airport were covered with as much as a foot of water Tuesday morning, plaguing commuters and travelers. With all but one lane of I-190 shut down, many travelers left their cars and tried to walk to the airport with their luggage

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Swimming was banned at the city's 27 beaches after two Chicago River locks were opened, sending waste water into Lake Michigan.

Elsewhere in the Midwest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said rising flood weathers, which made 11 locks and dams impassable, forced the closure of the Mississippi River from Bellevue, Iowa, to Saverton, Mo.

In southeast Wisconsin, about 115,000 people were without power from the storms, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. About 35,000 were still without power Tuesday morning. A spokesman for We Energies told the newspaper it was the worst storm since 2005.

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The city was still battling flood water generated by heavy rain at the height of the storm. At one point, Midway Airport registered nearly an inch of rain in just 7 minutes, according to WGN's Weather Blog.

From just a few days ago:



Heavy rains hits Chicago; Widespread flooding reported

Enjoying the "new normal?"

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The Midwest Receives Two Months Of Rainfall In One Week

Downpours in the Midwest this week have damaged crops and could lead to a delay in grain shipments.

Some parts of the Midwest — including parts of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska — received 5 to 10 inches of rain over the course of a week, an amount that’s the equivalent of two months of rainfall in the region. In Minnesota, the rain caused mudslides and forced evacuations, and in Minneapolis, four inches of rain fell on Thursday, breaking records for the most rain to ever fall in the city on one day in June. Rains also forced a bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin to close indefinitely on Monday, due to high water levels. Minnesota’s governor declared a state of emergency in 35 Minnesota counties on Thursday, and the Twin Cities have set records for the wettest year so far since 1871 and one of the wettest Junes ever recorded.

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The rain has damaged corn and soybean crops, according to local reports, with water slow to drain from farmers’ fields. If farmers can get the water off their crops over the next few days, the crops could survive, and soybeans can be replanted this late in the season. The rains also elevated river levels, which could temporarily halt grain shipments in the region.

The Midwest’s recent patterns of floods, droughts and damaged crops are in line with predictions for the region in this year’s National Climate Assessment. Texas, too, experienced some major flooding this week, with the city of Glen Rose receiving 8.5 inches of rain on Sunday. The rain in Texas did provide some relief for the drought-stricken state — this year was the fourth-driest on record before the rains fell; after, it was the sixth-driest. Texas and neighboring Louisiana were also hit by flooding last month.

As rains soak the Midwest, California is parched, with 100 percent of the state in the most severe stages of drought.

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Britain, Bolivia, Columbia, Bosnia, Alaska, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, even Saudi Arabia among many other areas of the world- all experiencing incidences of increased precipitation and events that would be categorized as unusual or extreme. I don't really need to go on about the reasons for these events as I have done so numerous times on this blog. I will continue however, to show it happening because people need to see what our continued consumption is costing us and future generations. I wonder how long it will take before cities will be uninhabitable because of the constant extreme events plaguing the areas. When crops can no longer be sown in certain areas either due to extreme flooding or drought.

Midwest Flooding Crisis: Mississippi River Crests in Minneapolis, But Concerns Remain

We saw huge floods in 2011 with the Mississippi River cresting at record levels only to see it fall to record low levels the next year.

Residents of several Midwest states would be just fine not seeing any more rainfall for a couple of weeks, but they might have to wait a few more days to get the fair weather they've craved.

River levels have soared over the past few weeks in South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, flooding towns, killing crops and even setting off a mudslide in Minneapolis. The Mississippi River has been pushed into major flood stage in the Twin Cities, as have 50-year-old levees, according to TwinCities.com.

St. Paul, Minnesota, has been placed under a state of emergency for the first time since 2011, according to a Chicago Tribune report. The declaration allows the state to move necessary resources into the area to aid in the recovery.

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"More clusters of thunderstorms with locally heavy rainfall are in the forecast this weekend, possibly persisting through Monday in parts of the waterlogged Midwest," said weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman.

Though meteorologists can't forecast exactly where those storms will pop up, if they form over the hardest-hit areas, another several inches of rainfall could quickly overwhelm smaller streams and creeks, and trigger additional rises on mainstem rivers.

'This ... is the whole state'

Other severe weather events — past floods included — have done little to prepare Minnesotans for the disaster unfolding all over the state. According to a New York Times report, this event is happening later than most floods that affect Minnesota, which forced officials to quickly prepare emergency deluge-fighting procedures. Sandbags had to be collected by the thousands, while flood walls and barriers needed to be built to minimize the damage.

Still, this event was so vast that it was hard to protect everyone, everywhere.

“I’ve seen severe weather — tornadoes, flash floods and ice storms — but usually they impact one area of the state," Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton told the Times. "This one is the whole state.”

In St. Paul, the Mississippi River was expected to crest Thursday. The river is expected to remain at major flood stage through at least the middle of next week, depending on how much more rain the region receives.

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ABC US News | ABC Sports News



"No one's ever seen it like this before."

But you will see it again... Such a shame too that the well made up anchor with her red slicker on couldn't even say those two words... Tragic and criminal how the US media has gagged the truth from its broadcasts as it breaks away to show us another natural gas ad... Even on my local station they show constant footage of record flooding, severe storms, drought, wildfires-----all with a smile on their face. How do they sleep at night?

South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa: Floods Turn Deadly, Millions in Damage Left Behind

Over six inches of rain in eight hours fell on the south side of the Twin Cities metro Thursday morning, sending Minnehaha Creek out of its banks. Nearby homeowners were scurrying to sandbag to protect their homes against the rising creek.

Minnesota officials toured water-logged areas of the state Friday, saying the severity and breadth of flooding make a federal disaster request a near certainty and a special legislative session a possibility.

Farm fields are under water, roads have been washed out, dams have failed and water has infiltrated homes from the far north to the far south of Minnesota. Four state parks have been fully or partially closed because of high water.

"The damage is really unprecedented and very widespread," Gov. Mark Dayton said before boarding a plane to southern Minnesota along with U.S. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar. Dayton has already declared a state of emergency in nearly half of Minnesota's counties.

Damage assessments already total in the millions even before surveying can start in many places soaked by downpours over the past week. Some lakes and rivers swelled to record levels, with others not expected to crest for days, if not weeks.

Thursday was the record wettest June day in the Twin Cities, as 4.13 inches fell on Thursday. This topped the old record from June 29, 1877 (3.48 inches). Also, through June 19, it has been the record wettest year-to-date in the Twin Cities, with just over 25 inches of precipitation (rain, melted snow equivalent). This is about 13 inches wetter than average for the year, so far.

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Also see:

Severe Storms Flood Streets, Uproot Trees, Knock Out Power

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Also remember that many of the areas flooding have overloads of nitrogen fertilizers, chemicals and fracking fluids to add even more concern to the fact that your crops have been decimated. Which then of course leads to the threat of diseases and also food price increases. This is it people. The "new normal" is already here. Also in India which is experiencing a record heatwave with over 160 people dead the monsoons that were extreme last year are weak this year which puts a strain on energy as well as crops and health: Monsoon expected in North India by July 5; 80% deficient rainfall in Gujarat, Rajasthan.

Also see:

Serbia Experiencing Worst Floods In 150 years

Thousands Remain Homeless After Solomon Islands Floods

Bolivia And Britain: A Tale Of Two Floods and Some Climate Truth

Battle of Britain-Period of Consequences

Colorado Flooding: Breaking Records, Cutting Off Towns

Floods Ravage Sudan and The World As We Sit watching

Days Of Torrential Rain In China As Death Toll From Extreme India Monsoon Expected To Reach 5000

Alberta, Canada Sees Worst Flooding In Decades

UPDATE 6-6-13:Czech Floods...Floods in Central Europe... Floods in the Midwest... Monster Tornadoes...Heatwaves...Glacier Melting...Excessive Drought... Now, What Could Be The Reason? Really? People Are Still Asking That Question?



This is what we are now seeing the effects of. Look to California drought as well.

THIS is what we should be seeing on our local news!