A Wet Wonderland

Oh wait, that's suppose to be Winter Wonderland. Then again we are in York. The ground became saturated, the river was bloated, fields became lakes, train tracks were flooded, we had a pond develop in the Green across the street, a substantial amount of water seems to have been pumped out of the basement of our building, a road nearby was closed due to high water, two of the three ways we get to the train station were blocked by water, and there was still more rain coming.

Normal


High


Impassible


There are life preservers mounted on posts along the river, even in spots that don't see a lot of foot traffic. We used to find them silly thinking that, first, you would have to be stupid to fall in and, second, the current wasn't going to take you anywhere anyway. Sure, if you didn't know how to swim, it might be a problem, but you should probably be keeping your distance anyway. Seeing the speed of the river now, the life preservers make much more sense although, in many cases, you'd have to wade out into water to get one or just grab one as you float by.

The floodgates for streets and private residences closed as the water got higher, some working better than others.


That plastic bag keeping your bicycle seat dry isn't going to help you much now.


Good weather for the ducks although they didn't seem to want to venture into the open water.


Railings barely poking out of the water.


Only the very top of a park bench is still visible.


Don't get me wrong, there weren't torrential downpours and it wasn't raining all of the time, but nothing ever dries. Even the streets stay wet pretty much 24-7 due to dew, frost, fog, etc. Combine moisture with very little sun or warmth and it's not going anywhere. So, it got to the point where any rain meant puddles... or lakes. This must be why rubber boots are so common here. For a very appropriately timed marketing campaign celebrating this mucky season, click on this link for the "Marvelous Mud" commercial.

Even though this flooding caused damage for some and clean-up for others, it wasn't the worst York has seen. In 2000, the river was the highest since they began keeping records at 17ft 8.5in above the normal summer level. Flooding-related costs were estimated at £1.3 million. By my unscientific observation, we were at 14ft this time.





After the rain eased up, the winds came. At 40mph, they gave the flooded river white caps and caused innumerable road closures due to both trucks blowing over and the risk of more accidents. As Pat can attest, having the highways you take home closed can give you an ulcer. Not only did the stopped traffic add an extra 1/2hr. onto his commute, but the absence of any detour signs was equally frustrating when all of the ways you know home are blocked.

On a positive note, the BBC says sun should set in York at 4:56pm today so we're making progress and it's noticeable. The crazy thing is that daffodils are already like 5 inches tall here. They haven't bloomed, but the crocus and snowbells are. We're getting a nice little warm spell, sun, and a break from the rain. Not as warm as what you guys have had recently, but it hasn't been anywhere near as cold either. Sounds like spring, but people say our winter might not have started yet since it comes later every year.

We'll see. Even without much snow to speak of, it's been an interesting "winter" so far.