Monday, September 08, 2014

Rain Day Delay

Today we woke up to rain.  And it got worse as the morning went on.  

My brother stopped by to see the progress on the kitchen renovation - it's really more of a re-paint, rather than renovation - and we slacked off quite a bit, not getting right to our work.  

By the time we decided to get going, we had noticed the rain had picked up quite a bit.  Well, more than a bit.  For about an hour it came down steadily, with bursts of heavy rainfall.


Then my mother said, "Oh my God, look at the flooding."

So we all rushed to the front window to peer out into the yard.  In over thirty years, I've never seen water like this in the yard.  Rushing.  Out of control.  Over the banks of the little river bed that was supposed to contain it.


The entire yard was under water.  The front path was flooded.  The driveway, impassable in a car.  Our mailman got stuck just outside the edge of our driveway.  He was stranded for about an hour until someone came to get him.

It's not uncommon for water to quickly flood every low lying area in Tucson when it rains.  The ground is so hard that it can't absorb the water as quickly as it's coming out of the sky.  Many people try to pass the washes (dry river beds) and get stuck, even though they have been warned repeatedly for years and years and years, not to drive in them.

I've seen washes run out of control.  But oddly, I've never seen our yard look like this.  The water was flowing in the front arroyo, but it was the one behind the house that shocked me the most.  The sheer speed of the water was unbelievable.

I should have used my regular camera to take the video, but I was already outside and I had my phone with me, so I just used that.  Enjoy!




~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2013: That Sunday, That Summer
2012: Heading To The Mountains
2011: End Of Summer Rainbow
2010: UGG, What A Surprise!
2009: Under The El
2008: We Escaped With Our Teeth Intact
2007: Praying In The Jewel Of The South For Over 250 Years
2006: Drive Time Champion
2005: Yukon Bet We’re Far Away

2 comments:

Gil said...

Totally unreal! Who was playing the piano? You or your mom? I can't believe the flow of that water. I hope than none of it got in the house and damage was minimal. Good thing you had your truck there in case you really had to get out.

The Daily Rant said...

GIL: I wish I could play a piano that well. The music is "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt. I thought it fit the flow of the water nicely. The water doesn't come near the house as the washes (dry river beds) are at the front and rear of the property, but it does make a mess of the front yard. A lot of plant debris gets caught up in the flowing water and when the water stops, the crap just stays where it landed. But, because this is the desert and all of the landscape is hideous to begin with, it just blends in and looks like another branch or bush or rock that's supposed to be there.