This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 31, 2012 - When I crossed the Meramec River yesterday, I saw someone down at the shoals doing what I knew could be done … walking across the Meramec at Valley Park. The water tables are so low from the season-long drought that those of us in Wildwood cringe at the rumors of wells running dry.
We have taken for granted a wonderful Missouri history of good weather, decent rain and sustaining crops. This year, those key elements abandoned us. While the insufferable heat has finally abated and some quick summer showers have delivered much needed water to revive the western hills, our rivers, reservoirs, aquifers and trees are still suffering from a severe inadequacy of rainfall.
Now, Tropical Storm Isaac inches toward us with promises of relief. An old nursery grower friend of mine once offered the sage advice “The best way to break the back of a drought is to be graced by hurricane rains.” Well, today, those rains will arrive.
Our relief, delivered by massive storm clouds, comes at the detriment of our fellow Americans on the Gulf Coast. They get hit, more often than one would wish, with storms of vast dimension. What they receive in damage often transforms itself into benevolence by the time it reaches those of us so far inland.
But, as I write this, the utility companies and county Emergency Management Services here in St. Louis are mustering their teams in preparation for what could be a wicked storm. The weather predictions are for rain, lots of rain, possibly as much as six inches in a day. This could lead to localized flash flooding, so be alert. The projections on the winds are to our favor, maybe only 15 mph if we are lucky.
But giant storms like Isaac have hidden dangers. There may be a straight line wind or tornado spawned within the widespread canopy of storm that could yield much more serious consequences. And we will think of our kin to the south as Tropical Storm Kirk gets upgraded to Hurricane status today.
I’ve done what I can -- I’ve cleaned the gutters and downspouts, checked the sump pump and brought the hanging baskets into the garage. The patio umbrellas are lashed down … this time (they went airborne two weeks ago with the sudden storm that swept through our valley and became quite a liability). The basic steps of storm preparedness have been made. Meetings rescheduled, batteries charged, water in jugs. This time, with lots of notice before his arrival, we filled the freezer with bags of ice so Isaac doesn’t catch us with our guard down.
If you haven’t made ready, you can still put an umbrella in the car, recharge your cell phone and tell your kids where you will be for the next 48 hours. I’ll be on the porch waiting for the rain, Wellies by the door. Usually we get storms face on, where we can see them coming. This time, with the counter-rotation of Isaac, we will be getting blasted from our blindside. My cistern is empty. Isaac, gentle land-tamed now Tropical Depression Isaac, we are waiting for you.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with the National Weather Service branch within it, is the website you want to follow for up-to-date details of this storm (www.nhc.noaa.gov ).
Just to be clear, climate is the long-term description of all the factors of temperature, wind and precipitation and their cumulative effects over long periods of time. Weather is the immediate, short-term condition of the day. NASA (climate.nasa.gov/effects/ ) has a comprehensive website explaining the connection between global warming, climate change and weather patterns. Our unstable weather has been linked to the climate shifting as heat-trapping blankets of CO2 rich air impact our temperatures, winds and water distribution.
NASA leader Jim Hansen, a modern day Paul Revere, draws attention to climate change and has projected that the intensely brutal hot, dry summer we’ve been experiencing will not be the one-in-three hundred year experience of the past, but more than likely a one-in-ten year event for our future.
Will we always be lucky enough to get a hurricane rain for relief? Don’t bet on it.