Springtime in Riley County always brings rain.
Sometimes they come with monstrous thunderstorms. Sometimes they are gully-washers (or frog-stranglers) Sometimes they come with little thunder and lightening. Sometimes the rain comes down much slower and soaks in.
Last night was one of those slower, less-violent rains. The rain gauge at my house showed about 1″. Folks down in the southeast part of the state had the more severe weather.
All of the tell-tale signs of a spring rain were evident this morning…
- Normally dry creeks had water flowing.
- Buds from the trees were stuck to my pickup.
- The air had a fresh smell.
- Water was standing in ditches.
- The yard looked much greener this morning than it did yesterday.
But, the spring rain is only a warning of potential for dangerous weather, including large hail or even tornadoes.
I guess now would be a good time to purchase a weather radio!
- Dan
I like how everyone (except me) around here owns a rain gauge. On the day after a rain, they get together and talk about their gauges. “I got about half an inch,” says one. “I just barely got two-tenths,” responds another. “That’s strange, because we got over an inch and a half,” says a third. (I suspect a robin landed on that third gauge and helped fill it up)
Without a gauge, I’m a foreigner in those conversations. So I now go to http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?06887000 and see the USGS rain gauge near where I live. Then I go to their list of Kansas sites at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ks/nwis/rt and pick out more rain gauges all throughout the Flint Hills.
Just so you know, the USGS rain gauge on the Blue River says it rained over eight-tenths of an inch last night. Just enough to cover my back patio in worms.
Yep, rain gauges are a part of life around here! Thanks for the usgs.gov links. I’d forgotten about them.
Good luck with the worms!