About 6:30 Saturday morning I awoke to two claps of thunder that shook the windows in my house and caused me to sit straight up in bed. The pups dove for cover and I headed downstairs to the couch. My bed is right in front of a big double window and I just don't like being there during a storm.
I checked the radar on my iPad and a huge blob of yellow and red was sitting right over Newton and my house. I expected it to move on eastward like our storms usually do, but it stalled. For the next six hours, I watched as it rained as heavy as I've ever seen it.
Normally it's no big deal, but Saturday morning, it rained for six straight hours. Yep, SIX hours. I went from window to window all morning watching the torrent.
My rain gauge only measures 5 inches, but reports are that we had upwards of 9-12 in nearby places. Lots of areas lost power, but luckily we didn't. About noon, the rain started to taper off, but by then, the damage was done. Bridges washed out, sink holes, trees down, roads caved in...it was a holy mess.
Saturday night, both NBC and ABC news were reporting the damage and last night, CBS Evening News carried our story. Emergency crews will be hard at work for many weeks to come I'm afraid. I'll put a link here to the report if you'd like to see what was going on all around me.
FLOODS as reported by CNN
FLOODS as reported by CBS
Thanks for your emails, calls, and Facebook messages, I really appreciate your concern and prayers.