We finally got some rain down here. We got almost 4" at our house and the airport measured 11.5". Several of the streets/highways were flooded (some impassable). Several people tried to drive through the high water and got their cars flooded. One unfortunate woman had her car flood on the freeway. She abandoned it and was walking (in the street the news said) when a car hit and killed her. The driver of the other vehicle did not see her in the road because of the low visibility in the downpour.
It was not lost on me that June 1 is the official start of hurricane season. We are off to a wet start here. Hope the folks in New Orleans get their levies fixed before the hurricanes start to form. Barb
Drought has ended in Corpus Christi!!!!!!!
I heard something about that on the news. I can't say the drought is over where I live. I think after the last real rain we had last weekend, they said it would delay the more extreme water restrictions in San Antonio by one week. But for anyone driving in flooding areas, please be careful. Better to turn back or take shelter somewhere than risk your life or lose your car.
No rain here in Arlington, although there has been some around us, hoping to get a good rain sometime soon.
We've had three good rains the last three days. Some of the fields are flooded and a few of the back roads have water in them but no serious flooding.
The canals are filling back up with water and the birds love it. Everything has really greened up!
I'm not complaining about the rain...the alternative is much worse. I think we are still down from where we need to be for the last few years.
hi barb, I was just thinking about you, wondering how things were going w/ ya.
I heard about all the rain in Corpus. Sorry about the flooding but I know lots of people really needed the rain.
We've only gotten 1 1/2 " so far. And that doesn't near get us out of drought here. But we are thankful for every little drop we get. ;) For now everything looks so pretty and green.
Lin
We really, really needed some rain here. DH could not even get his tomatoes to grow this year. We use well water and apparently it is too salty and with no rain to rinse things off; the tomatoes did not make it. We really missed those big red ripe tomatoes he grew so well every other year he has gardened. He even rinsed the plants off with "house water" but that did not help.
Texas weather, sometimes all or nothing, LOL.
frostweed, I used to live in Fort Worth on the Arlington side. Sometimes I miss the 8a zone growing conditions, but we have a lot of things I can grow here that I could not grow there. Miss the iris in the spring. Miss the spring...
vossner, I have been going through some pain mgt. issues and have not been doing as much gardening as I did in the recent past. Have been planting a lot of "bullet proof" type plants. Kinda sorry I got Evening Primrose started in my wild area though as it turns out to be a thug and covers everything in its path. Oh, but it is beautiful when in full bloom in a mass planting!
Linda, hope your area gets the rain your garden needs soon. Went through water restrictions and it is no fun. Since we have a water well, we don't have to comply with the Corpus Christi city restrictions, but we have to post "Well Water" on our fence so our neighbors don't think we are cheating.
Glad to hear the other areas are getting at least some rain. Calalily, I was thinking about you over in Bayview when the rains came here. Figured you would be getting a lot also. It is nice to see the birds happy and the grass green.
dmj1218, my nightmare is trying to evacuate because of a hurricane and getting stuck on the road. Felt so sorry for Houstonians last season when I saw in the news people were running out of gas in the midst of heavy traffic leaving the city. Hope none of us on the coast get hit this year, but know that is not realistic thinking. Prepare, prepare. Barb
Barb
Premont only got 3 1/2 inches but we will take anything at this point.20 miles southeast of here in Ricardo south of Kingsville got 25 inches.now that is alot of rain !
elva
Hi Barb
I'm right next to you in Portland and was so thankful for rain. Boy did we need it--I felt your pain . . . . We supposedly got five inches per the news but I don't think that very likely where I live, but I'll also take anything I can get. You just can't beat God given rain!!!!
Patty
Yah!!! Edinburg got rain too!!! My rain gauge measured 3.5 inches so I am happy!!!! It has been so dry - the rain is a welcomed change...although now I'm complaining about the humidity and the skeeters!!!
Heard about all the rain in Kingsville and Corpus too. My S-I-L was out in Kingsville last Sunday and said on her drive back she saw several accidents and many people had pulled off to the side because the rain was coming down so hard it was hard to see the road.
Corpus is notorious for flash flooding. I got stuck in a flash flood a few years back when I drove out there to pick up a custom quilt. Oooooh, that was scary! I was lucky enough to see a school lot with a ramp I could drive up. The streets quickly flooded and I saw vehicles being moved along by the high water and all the cars parked along the curbs had water up to the windows. Turns out the address I was looking for was right across the school and the lady's husband drove his heavy duty truck over to pick me up. Men being men...he decided to have a bit of fun and went walking around in hip high water to freak his wife and me out. Good thing he had sense enough to hold onto the cyclone fence!
~ Cat
Patty, it is certainly great news that most of us at least got some rain. It is true, you just can't beat the God given rain for clearing the air and washing all that dust (and salt) off the plants.
Elva, 25" of rain though!!!!!!!!!!! I agree with you, Kingsville got more than anyone can handle. Hard to even think about how to deal with that much all at one time. That is more than most South Texas gardeners could hope for in a year. We had 10" of rain the first full year we lived here. It wiped out some of the plants I planted especially for their drought tolerance. So you can get too much of a good thing (this rule does not apply for dark chocolate with nuts though).
Cat, you are right about the flooding here in Corpus. Seems like our storm drains cannot handle a downpour. Unfortunately, a lot of them are clogged with debris and trash that blows around in our wind. The city has been out working on the potholes that sprang up like Texas wildflowers all over our streets. Don't know what the criteria for fixing potholes is though. Drove on one street today that had one pothole filled back up and another left "as is" to keep the drivers on alert.
And yes, even with just 3" of rain, the skeeters woke up and are buzzing around the garden looking for victims. Our poor old arthritic dog passed away recently. Skeeters used to torment her big old nose. She hated having "Off" sprayed on her but it really did seem to discourage those critters. Used a lot of "YardGuard" around the screened porch to try to give her a place where she could be outside and still not be so harrassed.
Your friend's husband sounds a bit Huckle Berry Finnish. Were you ladies properly impressed with his tricks on the fence?
Lin, Think how nice it would be nice if we could just get a nice steady 1"1/2 to 3" inches of rain on a more regular schedule than once every 6 months or so..........
Barb