The Rain's a Pain and Falling On the Plains

Highway 78 Spillway Creek

The Texas drought has been replaced by the hundred year floods. For the past two months we've had rain nearly every day taking the Lake Lavon level from fourteen feet below normal to eleven point one feet above normal.

Old Highway 78 which is often used as a fishing pier, where the cows wandered freely on its dry lake bed is now completely submerged. Even Thompson Cemetery next to the lake has suffered with rising lake levels.


We feel lucky to be on an elevated location where the saturated ground drains away from our house. Even so, the yard is pooling with water making it impossible to mow.

The Weather Experts have predicted this morning's rain will end the long running stream and record breaking amounts of rain these past weeks. Hopefully, the yard will dry out enough to trim back the jungle.

The blueberries are getting plenty of water.

Those who live closer to bodies of water aren't as lucky as we've been with Duck Creek in Rowlett overflowing its banks and flooding homes. White Rock Lake and the Trinity River have overflowed their banks and are affecting neighboring communities flooding homes and sending many to shelters from the storms.

Even major highways have felt the impact of too much of a good thing. Northwest Highway was closed yesterday morning about 5:30 am when an underpass became flooded with over six feet of water. Despite barricades and warnings to "Turn around, don't drown," seven cars attempted to traverse the water and ended up being rescued by the National Guardsmen in floating rafts. It's expected to remain closed for a couple of days until rain water can be pumped into overflowing drainage canals that feed the already swollen waterways.

I'm wondering if all the prayers for rain during the drought over the past four years have finally reached their destination.

No more drought like we had in 2011 - 2014