Damn. The big threat earlier this summer was that flooding would be as bad as 1993, when the reservoir south of here flowed over the spillway and pushed aside tons and tons of black Iowa dirt to expose a Devonian fossil field. (Pretty cool, actually. You can stroll along a 375 million year old sea bed.)

But now the flooding may be worse, up to some record set almost a century ago. Streets are closed, there are sandbagging operations near the waterways, and there's talk of closing most of the bridges over the rivers. In '93, they had to close part of the interstate, so that's possible too. Other than the commuting nightmare, the biggest danger is to some homes and businesses very close to the water. *quashes lecture about people who buy in a flood plain*

I'm worried about my poor baby tomato plants and herbs, which I put in late because it was so cold this spring. Now they're being subjected to straight-line winds that the weather terrorists weather guys on TV say may reach up to 100 miles an hour. Not to mention the possibility of godless tornadoes. ( A rude explanation of "godless tornadoes" and why Iowans spend so much time in their basements may be found here.)

We are relatively high and dry, but the storms keep knocking out the internet, cable, or all of the electricity. Blackouts have eaten a couple of LJ posts already. So if I disappear, all is relatively well, at least chez Murchison. Imagine me sitting in muddy, humid Iowa, grousing about the weather, and be glad you're elsewhere.