What's more current than the weather?

[Clodfobble]

Flooding also gets worse as the surrounding areas are developed, unless there are very strict laws about the percentage of "impervious cover" (i.e. non-rain-absorbing concrete) that's allowed to be built over a given space of land. 8 inches of rain 20 years ago might not have had the same effect as 8 inches of rain today.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I north New Jersey I ran into road after road with roadblocks because of flooding. Interesting that most flooding was at intersections.

[Happy Monkey]

I would guess that they try to put the sewer inlets at intersections, so they can drain both streets. Then they grade slightly down towards the intersection, so it flows to the sewer. Then, if it gets inundated, or blocked, you get a pond.

[xoxoxoBruce]

That makes sense in an urban grid system but much of this was rural and suburban roads with intersections sometimes miles apart. I suppose where you have the intersection of two roads which are invariably higher than the adjacent terrain it blocks the normal flow of water adjacent to those roads. I don't know.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

That makes sense in an urban grid system but much of this was rural and suburban roads with intersections sometimes miles apart.

Which towns?

[xoxoxoBruce]

From Trenton to Sparta.

[Carruthers]

Tis the same the whole world over...

Heavy thunderstorms spark calls for improved drain cleaning after rainwater floods streets

Numerous heavy thunderstorms over the weekend have sparked calls for drains to be cleared across the country after rainwater flooded Buckinghamshire streets.

The bank holiday weekend saw stunning lighting storms batter the county – however it appeared the drain systems were unable to cope with the heavy rain.

Bucks county councillor (BCC) for Great Missenden, Peter Martin, claimed storm gullies in Great Missenden have not been cleared in his seven-and-a-half years as councillor and called for action to be taken.

Speaking at a meeting of the environment, transport and communities select committee on Tuesday (May 29) he said:

“We have got a number of gullies and I have lived in Missenden for seven-and-a-half years and they have not been touched in that time.

“Contractors were employed last year but apparently there was a problem with them and they cleared off and the problem was not completed.

“We have got a number of steep hills when it rains heavily the water cascades down them and just makes a bigger problem elsewhere.”

BCC’s cabinet member for transport, Mark Shaw, admitted drain systems across the county struggle to cope with excess water during heavy storms, however he assured councillors the issue is being addressed.

He said: “I have to say we had the gully cleaner out in Chesham last week, especially in Waterside, and after the rains on Saturday it was flooded again and it just can’t cope with the amount of water when rain is as heavy as it was.

“But yes, we are out there literally every day clearing blocked gullies and we will continue to do that and we will make sure Great Missenden has its fair share of that.”

In February BCC councillors agreed to set aside £125,000 to clean gullies which is set to be invested this year, according to head of highways at BCC Mark Averill.

Bucks Free Press

The tanker which cleared out the surface water drains was a frequent sight during my childhood.
The driver would lift the grating at the edge of the road, pump out the mud and other detritus, then flush the drain with clean water and move on to the next one.
Come to think of it, it provided free entertainment for us kids and could be added to the 'No electricity needed' thread.
I can't remember the last time I saw this essential maintenance take place and this morning had to navigate around a flood at a road junction on my way into town.
Eventually someone will come along and give the drain a desultory prod with a stick, I suppose.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

From Trenton to Sparta.

That is more rural parts of NJ. Plenty of open land for drainage. Most homes built on 2+ acre lots. And not much flat land that so easily floods. Been up and down those roads (ie Routed 206?) for many decades in all kinds of weather. It must have been an unusually heavy rain.

One factor is apparent. After eight years of Gov Christie, plenty of maintenance and new construction was eliminated or suspended in the name of cost controls. Those so desperately needed tunnels into NYC's Penn Station were only one obvious example.

[BigV]

Rainy, low to mid sixties.

Layering up including my Cowichan hat.

[Gravdigr]

I'll take a little o' that low - mid 60s.

Mid 90s...HUMID...I thought it rained earlier, but, it was sweat squirting outta the little old lady standing next to me.

[Carruthers]

In late March - early April we were emerging from a very wet winter.
Our back garden slopes and we are on a deep layer of chalk so, at least in theory, it should be well drained, but for months the lawn squelched underfoot and was in danger of becoming a quagmire.
Three to four months on we are experiencing a prolonged period of hot weather and barely any rainfall.
Grass has turned brown, I haven't mowed the lawns in weeks and it's like concrete underfoot.

Satellite imagery has revealed how the UK’s heatwave and drought has changed its appearance.

A photo taken in May shows the country covered in Green, but another recent image shows it reduced to a shade of brown.

The longest heatwave Britain has experienced in 42 years saw just 47mm of rainfall between 1 June to 16 July.

It makes it the driest start to summer on modern records, which date back to 1961.

Britain could see its hottest summer on record this year if above average temperatures continue, according to the Met Office.

Even if the rest of the summer is average, it will “certainly rank in the top 10 warmest summers on record,” the national weather service said.

However, a spokesperson for the Met Office cautioned: “It is important to remember we are only half way through the season, and a lot can change.”

As a consequence of the dry spell outlines of archaeological sites have become visible.

Remnants of WWII Air raid shelters on Jesus Green in Cambridge show up in the parched grass

Several aerial shots of parch marks in the link.

Right, I'm off to do a rain dance. I'm a beautiful mover.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I haven't mowed the lawns in weeks and it's like concrete underfoot.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

So the Met is trying to convince everyone that the evidence of alien activity is just archaeological sites. Very clever.

[Mountain Mule]

New Mexico is drought central at the moment. We're in the middle of the great North American Monsoon, but it's been nothing but thunder and lightening and some black clouds that promise rain, then break their word and blow away leaving nothing behind except a few brush fires started by lightening strikes.

My roomie is an archeologist and he claims we're all gonna die out here just like the Anasazi did. He's a regular black cloud himself, but archeologists do love their dead civilizations.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Mountain Mule

He's a regular black cloud himself, but archeologists do love their dead civilizations.

So he's a Native American archeologist, then?

Black Cloud?

Does he have a brother in the toilet tissue industry?

[Glinda]

Hell, we'd kill for some rain out here in SW WA. Instead, we're sweltering in the 90s and 100s for at least the next week. Fo' sizzle!