Greetings and welcome!
-Water water everywhere!
The big thaw is here.
Tuesday after I wrote my update I headed to work in Crivitz. It was a beautiful 65 degree sunny day. On the way home a little before sunset I could not believe how much snow had melted. Entire fields that were white at noon were completely free of snow at 7pm. The snow in the woods got a little patchier too. Creeks and rivers were at bank full stage.
Wednesday wasn’t quite as warm or quite as sunny. Wednesday afternoon and night brought some pretty good rains and even a few rumbles of thunder. The estimated rainfall out of that was about 1.5″. It would not surprise me at all if local rain gauges had more than that. I would guess at 2″. That took down a lot of snow too.
At that point the creeks and rivers are going over their banks, and the swamps that feed them have a lot of water. There are flood warnings on the Pike River near Amberg, the Peshtigo and Menominee Rivers closer to Marinette, as well as other regional rivers.
Most places aren’t affected at all, but low spots, flood plains and drainage areas have plenty of water. I have been watching Eagle Creek at Hwy C and it is well over its banks.
The Peshtigo River is running at 2,200cfs, about +33 or +34″. I predicted 30 Tuesday. It blew through that running. The slope of the graph suggests that +36″ seems likely.
It is not the highest that it has been on this day, but it is close. Right now it is at 2,170cfs, and the record high (20 yrs history) was 2,310cfs. By my goesintas that is about 6% below the record for this day. Not bad.. We will see how tomorrow goes. Keep in mind that it is just today’s record. I have seen it go into the low 50s, and the locals tell of it getting even higher.
At any rate it is going to be some epic whitewater this weekend. It is going to be 65 and sunny and the river will be at its prime. Call Kosir’s at 715-757-3431 and get some real big adventure.
Beyond the wet week and high water.. I am glad that the snow is finally gone. I am seeing landmarks in the yard that I haven’t seen in months. I am very much looking forward to getting a head start on spring cleanup. The north side of the house is still holding snow, the rest of the yard is mostly bare. The driveway is firming up nicely except in the usual muddy spots that are deep.
The deer and turkeys are out by the roads a lot now. I have seen quite a few tom turkeys in full display showing off in the past few days. Also out by the road were porcupines and grey squirrels.
One last thought.. Tuesday when I was near Crooked Lake I saw that Boundary Lake was opening up on the edges. That process has started, and the rain will likely speed it up.
Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!
RJB
Thank you for the update! We will be definitely heading up this weekend. I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate these entries. 🙂