There is a lot of water in Minnesota--all year long--but especially in the spring when the ice and snow melt and add inches to the water level of lakes and rivers. We had bad news and good news this spring. Bad news: the winter snow was denser and wetter than usual, producing more melt-off. Good news: there was no snow to speak of in the month of March. The mighty Mississippi River crested at nearly 20 feet. That's 6 feet above flood level and 3 feet above what is called "major flood level." (The highest level ever recorded for the Mississippi River was 26.4 feet in 1965.) When you look at a map of Minnesota it becomes obvious, given the number of lakes and rivers, that flooding poses problems for so many people in the state.Both the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers flow through the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis and St. Paul). We tried to take a walk on the hiking path that runs alongside the Minnesota River last week. Parts of the path were underwater and the rest was very soggy. The extra water makes hiking difficult, but the geese don't mind at all.
3 comments:
It reminds me of an old Johnny Cash song, How high's the water, Momma?
I love hearing the geese call when they fly over, haunting.
I was surprised to hear that we are at a higher fire risk (especially up north) because the snow melted so fast and because we didn't have any snow or rain in March.
i love your new blog! will you be traveling all over minnesota now?
if so, when it is time to venture to duluth, be sure to visit the portland malt shoppe on the lake for a delicious shake. my favorite is chocolate peanut butter!
Post a Comment