Climate Change? Nahhh ...

It was 7 degrees this morning. It's supposed to be in the 50s on Sunday and Monday.

 

Winter storm barreling toward the UK is possibly the strongest ever for North Atlantic


Storm Dennis becomes 'bomb cyclone' as it moves from Iceland to UK

 

Mississippi braces for 'historic, unprecedented' flooding around its capital

 

The Mississippi River is bound to start flooding pretty soon (if it hasn't already). All the rain that has fallen across the Tennessee Valley the last week is going to get there eventually. When it does, it won't be good for those who live in that area.

 

‘The only uncertainty is how long we’ll last’: a worst case scenario for the climate in 2050

 

‘Air is cleaner than before the Industrial Revolution’: a best case scenario for the climate in 2050

 

"Historic and unprecedented," except there were two floods worse in 1979 and 1983. This has been bad, make no mistake, but it's the worst in 37 years, not ever.
What made this one worse was that the city has been developed a bit in that time. Homes and roads that flooded in 2020 were simply not there in 1979 and 1983. So damage will be worse, but technically the flood levels are rare and not unprecedented.

The Mississippi River is in moderate flood stage, about what it does every spring. That's an entirely different flood (and type of flood) than the one affecting Jackson, though. The Mississippi River floods because of snow melt and rain way upstream. The reason the Pearl River is flooding around Jackson is because it won't stop raining -- and raining hard.
We're about 12 inches above normal rainfall for this time of year in Jackson. It's rained four or five days out of seven, practically every week this year. And when it's rained, it hasn't been a quick sprinkle. It's last two or three days and dropped a couple of inches at a time. All of that rain that's dropped on North and Central Mississippi is backing up the Pearl River basin and creeping into the city of Jackson. We need about a weeklong dry spell for it to flush out, which we aren't going to get. Another two inches is supposed to fall this week.
I drove over the Pearl River on I-20 this morning. The water is almost up to the top of the pilings, maybe 10-15 feet below the road bed. Thankfully the river has crested for the moment so hopefully it won't get any worse than it already is.

 

I hope it recedes in the next few weeks. I'm bringing a group of kids right through there to Vicksburg at the end of March.

 

If you're just passing through, I think you'll be fine. As bad as it is, it doesn't seem to be affecting the main roads (or at least the interstates) for now. The flooding is in a pretty limited area that just happens to include some of the busiest parts of Jackson, including some of the downtown area. I think they did some work after those two earlier floods to ensure that the interstates at least will stay open if it came close to those levels again.

What's really nasty is it's showing how polluted that river is. The floodwaters are bringing tons of trash along with it that is just floating in ditches and backwaters. It's disgusting.

 

Terrible damage overnight from tornadoes that sliced across Nashville. Mainly Germantown-East Nashville area. Hope all local SJers are safe this morning.