Spring Floods?

This year’s snowpack is huge. Another 3 to 5 inches is predicted for Sunday. However, by the middle of next week we are going to have a warming trend where temperatures will climb above freezing.

In recent years the season changes have been abrupt. Last fall we went from mild weather to snow on the ground that stuck around all winter. Maybe people were caught with their boats still in the water. If we have an abrupt warming spell it’s going to be interesting.

Spring floods are no joke. Even here in the mountains it’s an issue. The rivers and streams overflow their banks. There have been days when we’ve hunkered down at home because all the local roads were impassable. Culverts, roadway, and even bridges have disappeared. Never drive over a flooded road. Even when I drove a lifted 4X4 pickup I’d turn around. The only exception was when there was a state road crew on the job and they assured me there was pavement under all that water.

Now that our only vehicle is a little economy car, I’m not even going to think about it. Even if the car could wade through the water it’s not going to happen. Modern cars are so full of electronics that water really messes them up. You might think you got away with it, but six months later electrical systems begin to fail. Once those start to go it takes a professional with the right diagnostic tools to even begin to try to fix it.

It looks like it won’t be long before the start of our fifth season: mud season. All the dirt roads are closed and weight limited are placed on many of the paved ones. There’s a reason houses in the north have mud rooms. It’s a place to deposit your muddy boots and rain coats before entering the house proper. It was the first addition I put on my house when transforming it from a seasonal cottage to a four season house.

One of the scary things to watch is an ice jam on the river. As the ice breaks up into huge chunks, sometimes those chunks dam the river. Picture a flood full of mini icebergs. The ice can easily scrub dams right off the river banks.

As much as I’m a bit leery about how fast the snow might melt, I am looking forward to spring. It’s been a tough winter for me.

-Sixbears