Flooding

[Gellar]

Currently the Mississippi is the at the 4th highest level it’s been at since records began in 1874 and still rising. Roads are closed, houses are underwater, boat landings are inoperable yet every day I see something that amazes me.


There is usually another 100 yards of parking lot here. Normally about where that big fishing float is at is the boat launch.

We have a boat landing to the left of this bridge. normally there is 20’ of clearance today there is about 4’ the RR bridge on the other side is lower. The RR has been raising the tracks in areas so trains can continue to operate.

This is the boat landing to the left of the bridge in the previous picture. The entire lot is underwater and there is 4’ of water in the bathroom.

This knucklehead just can’t stay off the river. I hope he catches his axle on the rip rap and pulls it off.

The highways are closed in many spots because of water. My normally quiet gravel road has become a detour for highway traffic to get around one closed area.

 

[noharleyyet]

Wow...

 

[Dougfirtree]

Oof, I remember flying over St. Louis back in '93 or '94 and as we descended toward the airport, I looked down and saw a house floating down the river... Stay safe!

 

[Gellar]

Oof, I remember flying over St. Louis back in '93 or '94 and as we descended toward the airport, I looked down and saw a house floating down the river... Stay safe!

93’ was a bad flood year. That’s when they really started building levees. Especially down that way in Missouri and Illinois.

 

[johnp]

With the HWY 82 bridge to Lansing closed, that makes for a Long detour!
The only boats I saw on the river were folks trying to retrieve or tie off belongings about to go bye bye.

 

[hank4elk]

Buddy is on WI side and he said they built a casino across the river and it's built on an ox bow lake and there is usually 16 from the top of the dike to the casino. They built there for the riverboat effect.
There is about 4 ft remaining to the new casino door...

My buddy is high and dry way up a draw off the river.

 

[Gellar]

With the HWY 82 bridge to Lansing closed, that makes for a Long detour!
The only boats I saw on the river were folks trying to retrieve or tie off belongings about to go bye bye.

I had to help direct a semi from Minnesota who was trying to get to Prairie du Chien but Iowa 76 is closed by effigy mounds because of high water so he didn’t know how to get to Marquette to cross the river. he headed north on the great river road and saw 82 was closed from lansing to Wisconsin so he was going to go all the way to lacrosse and back to prairie du chien. But at Lansing he ran into the road closed by the sewer plant on the south side of town. He turned around in our parking area and was going to take county roads to Monona to us 18 to Marquette to Pdc. Poor guy probably added 150 miles and 3 hours to his day.

The truck in the picture runs the fishing float below lynxville dam. You may have heard stories about him.

 

[vagabond]

It is definitely sporty around here. I was shoveling 18" of snow last week. Yesterday I had to get to mowing. Have bridge repair to do here on farm east of Lacrosse, but my repairs from last fall held up remarkably well on the one side.

 

[johnp]

The truck in the picture runs the fishing float below lynxville dam. You may have heard stories about him.

I've witnessed some of his " people skills " first hand !

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Hopefully it doesn't get much worse for you folks in IA!

I live close to the Mississippi in MN. I thought for sure with the levels of snowpack and spring moisture we had that the flooding was going to be worse than I'd seen when we had that crazy melt off with a week of 70 and 80 degree temps a couple weeks back. Fortunately, we had such an early, deep, and consistent snowpack that the frost never really got into the ground in many places and a ton of water actually went into the soil with the rapid melt off. Feel like we dodged a bullet and there are still folks who are in trouble from flooding up here too.

 

[Nameless Range]

Is this due to a large amount of rain?

Crazy pictures.

 

[vagabond]

Had a really rapid thaw, then snow and rain....farmers on high ground aren't complaining!

 

[Gellar]

Had a really rapid thaw, then snow and rain....farmers on high ground aren't complaining!

We are actually dry away from the big river.

 

[Gellar]

Is this due to a large amount of rain?

Crazy pictures.

Snow melt up north.

 

[Gellar]

I've witnessed some of his " people skills " first hand !

I deal with a few times a week in the spring and fall when his floats open. He’s always courteous and helpful to my staff and I. But I tell all of them not to turn their back on him.

 

[Gellar]

This place wasn’t on the cement blocks until last weekend. They put bottle jacks on each corner and lifted it up.


The railroad has been working feverishly to lift about 1/2 mile of track so the trains can still go. The RR will go to great lengths to keep the track open. I can’t imagine seeing all this equipment and manpower it would not have been cheaper to just close the track for a few days.

 

[Gellar]

Pikes peak looking towards the Wisconsin river confluence with the Mississippi. 349 years ago Marquette and Joliet entered the upper Mississippi River here. Zebulon pike thought this spot would be a good fort, but they built Fort Crawford across the river near prairie du chien. These pictures are a little deceptive because that is normally a large backwater lake area, but it’s a lot bigger than usual.

 

[duckhunt]

I had to help direct a semi from Minnesota who was trying to get to Prairie du Chien but Iowa 76 is closed by effigy mounds because of high water so he didn’t know how to get to Marquette to cross the river. he headed north on the great river road and saw 82 was closed from lansing to Wisconsin so he was going to go all the way to lacrosse and back to prairie du chien. But at Lansing he ran into the road closed by the sewer plant on the south side of town. He turned around in our parking area and was going to take county roads to Monona to us 18 to Marquette to Pdc. Poor guy probably added 150 miles and 3 hours to his day.

The truck in the picture runs the fishing float below lynxville dam. You may have heard stories about him.

I heard the idiot that owns the float had to sell. Maybe I heard wrong?

 

[Gellar]

I heard the idiot that owns the float had to sell. Maybe I heard wrong?

The way I understand it is Several agencies have tried to give him cease and dismiss orders but it is not clear whose waters he operates in and who has authority and no one one wants to step up to take further action.

 

[Gut Shot]

Is this due to a large amount of rain?

Crazy pictures.

The real cause is that the government decided that no place along the river was allowed to flood. Levies get higher and thicker and the water has no place to go but up. There aren't large flood plains along the upper Mississippi anymore.

I slung a lot of sand bags back in 93. If I remember right only one levy held in the state of Illinois.