Topic starter
24/04/2011 11:54 am
We have now had over a full 24 hours of thunderstorms and torrential rains in the Louisville area. The Ohio had dropped below flood stage on Friday, but is again on a steady rise and the forecast is for it to be 8 feet above flood stage by Monday morning. Some prognosticators are saying that we're in for another major flood like the one of 1997.
The Howard Steamboat Museum mansion is outside the Jeffersonville flood wall and in '97 the Jeffboat yards, Riverside Drive and Market Street were under water. The wall along the street helps, but water came into the yard through the front gate and we had seepage in the basement. The Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center packed up all their exhibits for removal, but the water stopped just short of the door.
During the disastrous flood of 1937, my grandfather was a radio operator handling distress calls and dispatching rescuers. He said that the oft repeated and frantic phrase was "SEND A BOAT!" Let's hope we don't have a repeat of that situation, but the rain is POURING continuously on this Easter Sunday morning.
Images:
(1) New Albany, Indiana - 1937
(2) Jeffersonville, Indiana - 1937
(3) Clarksville, Indiana - 1937 - Colgate-Palmolive Plant
24/04/2011 12:07 pm
I've been watching it over there. I'm in Wood River, and it's not much better over here. No clear skies in the forecast until next week. St. Louis is predicted to go to almost 35 feet -- that's if no more rain...
Topic starter
24/04/2011 12:54 pm
Revised River Stage
Just heard that the latest forecast is for the river to go to 33 feet by Tuesday morning (flood stage on the upper gauge is 23) and they are already busy with flood gate installation and pumping stations being activated.
Herewith is a photo of the Howard mansion (now the museum) in January, 1937, when there was 7' 1" of water inside the house. The late Ed Howard (son of Capt. Jim and Loretta) loved to tell of rowing his boat through the front doors and tying up to the banister of the grand staircase. All of the furniture on the main floor was removed, except for the Steinway piano, which was placed high on blocks. Sorry to say, it was inundated and ruined. In 1997, the cabinet was beautifully restored by Bittner's, but the Steinway representative visited the museum and told us that making the piano playable again would be extremely cost prohibitive. So it remains forever silent. We have a booklet (for sale in the museum gift shop) written by Ed Howard of his remembrances of the flood.
Topic starter
24/04/2011 5:00 pm
Flood Update
My parents and I had a leisurely and most enjoyable Easter lunch at the Kingfish Restaurant along the Jeffersonville waterfront. The river is now creeping up into the lower parking areas and the walkway that runs along the riverfront is probably under 6 feet of water in places. Two coal tows passed upbound, making slow headway and really struggling against the current, even with a helper towboat. There was a steady parade of logs, drift and all kinds of stuff rapidly passing down.
Across the river, the BELLE, SPIRIT and wharfboat were riding HIGH. The rain has stopped for a while, but they say it will return shortly. SIGH!
24/04/2011 5:10 pm
Kingfish Restaurant
As long as it stays along the Jeffersonville waterfront and not in it! I just took a drive through Sunset Park in RI and you can already see debris left on the roadway as the river recedes. Rain is in the forecast here for the next 3 or 4 days, so that would slow down the receding waters, which have been covering some land for over 2 weeks now.
Topic starter
26/04/2011 10:36 am
The Ohio continues to rise and the rain continues to fall. We're in for more rain today and tomorrow, with a predicted 2 to 4 inches falling on Wednesday. Businesses along Riverside Drive and Market Street in Jeffersonville have begun moving out and flood gates are to be installed. The museum should be OK -- unless it keeps on coming!
26/04/2011 2:21 pm
This flood will probably not approach the level of the 1937 inundation, which was more than 24 feet higher than today's predictions. The Ohio River extended from south of Churchill Downs to Sellersburg, Indiana. At Fourth Street the Ohio was twenty miles wide! Ah, them was the good old days.
Topic starter
26/04/2011 10:39 pm
Another 1997 ?
They are saying this flood MIGHT exceed the last bad one, which was in March, 1997. I remember the Jeffboat yards were completely under and it swallowed up Market Street along the brick wall that surrounds the Howard Museum. It also came up into the yard at the front gate and we had seepage in the basement.
The weather "hypers" are saying that tomorrow (Wednesday) is gonna be a real rock and roll day for storms, ripe conditions for tornadoes and a rainfall of 2 to 4 inches. Let's hope they are wrong!
27/04/2011 8:19 am
More Snow in Minnesota
We've had about 30 hours of rain in Minnesota and we are expecting snow in a couple of hours. Granted we haven't been hit nearly as hard as St. Louis and the Ohio River valley, but we're still dealing with this crap up here too. I'm still waiting for Spring up here as it still feels like winter. Of course when we get the stuff, it all goes downstream from here.
Topic starter
27/04/2011 8:33 pm
And it shall rain forever and ever!
After another night of rumbling thunder, flashing lightning and pouring rain, we had a brief respite for half the day with a few drizzles. Now, as they predicted, the wind is howling, the rain is POURING and they warn this afternoon and evening are ripe for funnel clouds to form and dip down out of the sky. Yikes!
The Ohio actually dropped a tad this morning, but is now on the rise, again!
Topic starter
28/04/2011 9:20 pm
River Crest!
The Ohio at Louisville has crested at 31.1 feet, 8 feet above flood stage on the upper gauge. Meteorologists predict a slow fall and say we aren't out of the woods yet, pending possible storms.
Scenes on television of the tornado that struck the Birmingham, Alabama area are horrific and my heart goes out to those people. Thus far, 261 persons lost their lives in the South yesterday.
29/04/2011 1:35 am
Here is a link to video of the F4 tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It is AMAZING footage!