Crazy Weekend

So, we moved this weekend. If it were that simple, it would be nice! Since we are "The Vaughans", at least one of us had to end up in the ER and this time it was my youngest. We marked our territory in the new neighborhood with a big puddle of blood from a bike accident. Dr. Wilson at AMMC did an awesome job with him and seems to be really good with kids. He stitched him right up! If AMMC offered a frequent flyers program, we would be due a round trip to Hawaii for the entire family! Luckily we had witnesses again, so DHS is not going to visit us... We actually had two OR nurses, a children's pastor, and a pediatric dentist at our house at the time, so he was in good hands! Unfortunately, we have to go see that Pediatric Dentist regarding the accident tomorrow. He's gonna be a tough kid! :)

Overall, everything is going smooth. We are doing some remodeling, so we currently living with the inlaws. Hopefully, we are not getting on their nerves! We hope to be out by the weekend. We'll see how that goes...

If you are one of the 350 people that emailed me over the past few days.... Give me some time and I'll try to get through all of them! It's amazing how fast the inbox fills up!

Take care,
Ryan

Road Closures

Look at this shot from Highway 67 in Jacksonville! This is the main 4 lane highway that we all take to Little Rock! If you want a link to all of the road closures in Region 8, CLICK HERE.

Be safe!

Ryan

MAJOR Flooding On The Spring River!

Major flooding is ongoing in Hardy on the Spring River and it is getting WORSE!. This flood is already worse than the big flood of 2006, but hopefully not as bad as 2008. The above image shows the current stage, forecast stage, and timeline as of 8:00 AM. It is expected to crest at 18'. Below are the impact statements regarding the flood stages at various points:

22.0 FLOOD IN MARCH 2008 CRESTED AT 22.29 FEET. WATER OVER U.S. HIGHWAY 63 ON EAST SIDE OF TOWN. LOWER LYING BUSINESSES IN OLD TOWN AND CITY HALL FLOODED. WATER OVER SPRING STREET AT BRIDGE. WATER OVER RAILROAD.

20.0 FLOOD IN APRIL 2008 ROSE TO 20.81 FEET. PORTIONS OF OLD TOWN FLOODED. SPRING STREET FLOODED. WATER UNDER MOST ELEVATED HOMES ALONG THE RIVER BANK.

18.0 LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. HOMES AND BUSINESSES ALONG THE RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES WILL BE FLOODED.

16.0 SERIOUS FLOODING IN FULTON AND SHARP COUNTIES ALONG THE RIVER. DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH SWIFT WATER RUNNING THROUGH CAMPGROUND AND UNDER HOMES ALONG THE RIVER. SEPTEMBER 2006 FLOOD CRESTED AT 16.8 FEET. LIFE THREATENING SITUATION.

14.0 HOMES ON PILINGS ALONG THE RIVERBANK HAVE WATER UNDER THEM. RIVER BEND CAMPGROUND AND OTHER LOW LYING RECREATIONAL FACILITIES ARE FLOODED.

12.0 SOME FLOODING IN THE CITY PARK AND IN RIVER BEND CAMPGROUND. WATER MAY BE NEAR HOMES ALONG THE RIVERBANK.

10.0 WATER IS BREAKING OUT OF THE BANKS AND FLOODING LOW LYING AREAS ALONG THE RIVER.

Pumpkin Carvings 2009

As you may know, the Vaughans love carving pumpkins! Here are our pumpkins this year! My wife did the Autobots one, we shared the work on Scooby, and "Hello" is my masterpiece! Anyone know who it is?

If you want to see our pumpkins from previous years, there is a dropdown on the right side of the blog to go to Octobers of 2007, 2006, and 2005...

Happy Halloween!
Ryan

PS- If you can't figure out the third pumpkin, CLICK HERE.

Record Breaking Rainfall!!!

It's not even November and we are the 8th wettest year on RECORD! The HPC (Hydrological Prediction Center) is forecasting 5"+ of rain across Region 8 over the next 48 hours. If that happens, we will go up to #3 and maybe even #2. As of right now, we are at 61.50" Here's the Top 10 Wettest years on record:

1. 72.18" 1957
2. 66.35" 1937
3. 65.39" 1973
4. 65.33" 1906
5. 64.21" 1898
6. 63.75" 1927
7. 62.19" 1945
8. 59.18" 1923
9. 55.73" 1921
10. 55.38" 1970

Stay Dry!
Ryan

WET Week Ahead

We all know that I do not control the weather, BUT it's been hard to look farmers in the eye recently. This weather has been HORRIBLE for them. Wet during planting, HOT during June, and wet and cool during the hot season. Now, it's past time to harvest and it's still too wet in some fields. With that said, I have more bad news....

This week looks wet! While some cutting and picking can still be done on Monday, Tuesday is looking wet! THEN, more rain will come on Thursday night into Friday! Before we end this week, we may have 4-5" added to our totals!!! We are already up to the 8th wettest year on record and it is only October! I fully expect to move up a few slots by next weekend. The above image is the 5-Day precip forecast from NOAA.

Farmers are going to be working hard on Monday. If you see them out and about this week when it is raining, give them a hug!

Ryan

Odd Drive Home

It's a fuzzy cell phone picture, but this is the scene of a double-fatal accident on Highway 49 this evening. I encountered it on my way home. It appears that a truck ran into the back of another car and spun it off of the road. The driver of the truck was transported and was not doing so good, from what I was told. I am not sure which car the fatalities came from... My prayers go out to both families.

This was actually the second wreck I encountered on my 15 minute drive home. The first did not have any ambulances, so hopefully everyone was ok. It was on Highway 358.

FINALLY, the oddest thing of the night came over the radio scanners in the StormTRACKER. A couple had called the Sheriff's Department after finding a toddler in the middle of the road on Highway 141! It's 11:00 PM on a very rainy night and we have a toddler on the highway.... There are several things I want to say, but I won't. I'm sure you have the same feelings.

There are families in deep pain tonight. It really makes me appreciate the family I have and makes the little things I worry about seem silly.

By the way, as of right now... the toddler is riding around with a Greene County deputy. He's trying to tell them which house is his.

Ryan

Edit- This morning I learned that the victims in the accident were young. For some reason, seeing young people die is harder. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Candace Scott and Tyler Tritch. Also, Seth Tripod was transported to the hospital. I'm not sure about his condition at this time, but please pray for him and his family. Seth graduated from GCT last year and was the starting QB. I've met him several times while shooting football for GCT. Good kid.

Rain is to blame according to the State Police report.