How are you guys doing with the foul weather up North?

Not bad so far. Nice summer type thunderstorm with pea sized hail. Something you Texans wouldn't even notice unless you need rain.

The worst my still be yet to come though. Could get a Derecho event. Not a given yet.

I hope we get some rain from this next storm you mid westerners have been hogging it all up even after 2 inches of rain last week my spring hasn't picked up any yet.

Be careful what you ask for.

So what does hail do for the o2 levels in a pond?

Cecil Do you think their is any chance that this storm comes south say 60 miles?

I don't know but I've heard it could cause a fish kill in ponds that are stratified by adding cold water that sinks.

Once the trout in the trout pond got all excited and smacked at some hail stones but suddenly stopped as they realized they weren't pellets.

Sure! What's your weather report say?

The weather channel was calling for 1-2 inches of rain here in somerset county but the main part of the storm is all ready too far north to hit us.

Dang! Rainman Rex sent a box of live Tilapia fingerings to me yesterday. They are supposed to be delivered tomorrow. Tracking shows they were at a facility about 40 miles away in Maryland, about half way between Sunil's pond/SmallPond and my place. I sure hope they get here before the really bad storms hit us.

Don't despair. The heaviest rain is going south of me by one or two counties and seems to keep tracking farther south as it goes east. However I see there is another line coming from the northwest that will probably intersect us by the time it gets this far east.

But the following update of an hour ago doesn't sound good:

SVR WIND/LARGE HAIL/ISO TORNADO THREAT INCREASES OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL
HOURS MAINLY SOUTH OF HWY 6 IN INDIANA/OHIO AS LARGE SCALE ASCENT
INCREASES IN ADVANCE OF AN APPROACHING MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE/60 KT
MID LVL SPEED MAX. DEEP LAYER SHEAR AND MLCAPE MORE THAN
SUFFICIENT FOR ROTATING STORMS AND EVENTUAL MCS
MAINTENANCE..

Scott has disappeared for the night. He got a lot of rain over there. Hopefully he isn't floating.

Just got a distant rumble of thunder that actually vibrated the house and my computer screen. I'd hate to be were the lightning struck. Honestly never felt thunder move air that violently.

It has rained more in 2013 thus far than all of 2012 for Oklahoma City.

Just a little light show with some thunder.

We're about 6 weeks from being hosed for the year. We've had nice weekly showers, but never enough for runoff.

Hope you guys up North got all the rain you needed with no associated damage.

Lightening was really, really frequent last night so I unplugged the 'puter. Last thing I need is that getting fried.

No high winds, 2 1/3" rain. Gotta go check the lake house, just heard that a couple of trees were down in that area, and it's only 2 miles from here.

UPS just delivered PS from Smith Creek, gotta run them to a clients pond.

That rain that missed parts of PA has probably ruined the amazing clarity in my pond. We received far more rain than predicted for today. At our house about 0.8" but here in Fairport, still pouring at at almost 2".

Over the past several days, the pond came back up from 5" down and hit overflow without being too fast to wash up any mud. I can easily see down 5' in my pond, and finally found a solar dock light that floated off.

We'll eventually talk about snuffing out Lightening Bolts so the surge current won't blow up anything in your house.

Gizmos are not available at Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco's, Menard's, Home Depot, Lowe's, Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, Staples, Office Depot, Target, Sears, Amazon, local hardware stores, or any other place a consumer would look for something like this, if they even knew it was really available.

You get the idea tho.

I have a masive surge protector on my incoming power on the house from my power company REMC. Will that work? It wasn't cheap but I got tired of the frequent surges damaging appliances.

Massive? Expensive?
It would be interesting to see this. Probably using Varistor or similar technology.

TrabTech-Phoenix Contact makes the best stuff on the planet.

The gizmo I will be using for incoming power fit's in the palm of my hand and list price is about 360 bucks.

I have a "massive" project coming up working with this stuff. The schedule isn't set yet, but may start this fall? When we get into this, I'll order my stuff. Much more than just protecting the mains tho.

I'll buy a couple extra and keep one on the shelf for ya esshup

Thanks! I'll need 'em.

2 of the roller coasters I mess around with had a "nearby" lightening strike.

On one, it was close enough to a hockey puck style proximity sensor. The surge back fed thru to the control system taking out all the DC input modules, DC power supply and all the other sensors on the ride.

On the other one, the surge came in thru one of the motors. It back fed thru the 3 phase system and took out 11 VFD's and some other gadgets.

Pretty expensive!

When considering lightening protection, think about all the stuff you have outside. A nearby ground strike can, and will, back feed to your breaker panel and house wiring, taking stuff out. Main's protection won't be of much help in this situation. Cover everything in and out.

Some utilities utilize capacitor type switching devices. These can also produce some nasty surges. Also, when the power goes out and comes back on, this can be a pretty decent surge.

I hate to say it with so many parts of the country still in drought, but we got probably 2 - 3" of rain from Wednesday night through Thursday afternoon and our ponds are overflowing. No damage and the winds never really developed as had been forecast, fortunately, though we did have a tornado watch. Made me appreciate in a very small way what you mid-western guys go through so many months every year and makes a little snow and ice seem downright attractive.

It's crazy but we are just the opposite we were last in June of 2012. We have had plenty of rain and much cooler temps this year. I'm hoping it stays this way all summer as my brook trout will do well.

Seems we are in a cycle of extreme opposites. Had one really snowy year with low temps and the following year not very snowy and mild temps.

With the exception of a 2-3 week period this spring, we've also had a very moderate year so far with comfortable temps and fairly consistent rainfall. Definitely a good way to go!

Night time temps and conditions have been great for sleeping. Sometimes ya just don't want to get out of bed!

That was a big old flash out the window. I saw the flash and a few seconds later, the building reverberated the Thunder.

Pretty good one going on right now.

Best time to sleep is with a storm outside.

Rain

I haven't been in my travel trailer since I winterized it last November.

Go in their today to crack some windows. Carpet was soaked and I am going WT?

Worse than that, the ceiling insulation is saturated. There are water marks at least half the length (33'TT) inside and some of the ceiling panels are bowing. Countertop by the stove is peeling up.

Went on the roof and one of the seams in the white EPDM membrane roof split wide open for about a foot. It had to be where there is a dip in the roof too. Acts just like a funnel.

Hey, I was going to remodel this year a bit, but wasn't planning on totally gutting it.

The split must have happened last winter. With how things looked and the record rain we have had, its been wet for a while now.

This is going to be expensive. I don't think my insurance would cover this.

Oh crap. It might be cheaper to just write it off and replace the whole thing. For sure a LOT less work!!

I got it new in 07 for a chunk of change.

Not one of those things you can just replace.

Just another setback.

Check with the insurance anyway. Mold will be an issue. You're looking at a LOT of work gutting the interior to the studs and replacing.

Flash floods in DFW this morning

So far I've had less than 1/2 inch.

No go with the insurance. Talked with them this morning and explained. She said they don't cover this type of water damage and it is usually the result of a manufacturing defect or improper maintenance. She said mine is too new to need a roof overhaul. She also suggested contacting the mfg for warranty repair. Warranty is up!

I agree with them on the defective manufacturing. When I looked at this, it appeared to be a butt joint and has like a vinyl strip screwed down over the two pieces with rubber caulking around it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but when you splice two pieces of EPDM, don't you use a lap joint? One bonded over the other?


It's a fiberglass camper with urethane injected insulation in the walls. Roof appears to be the only thing with wood and fiberglass insulation.

Still moving back to the boonies tho. Looking for a decent tent now

I think it'd be easier to burn it too the ground and start over.. Those campers always seem to have more problems than not I've had 2 and both have leaked..

Burning 26K just don't sound right!

Couple of weeks ago I was delivering Tilapia and the client had his boys replacing a urethane roof on a camper. 5th wheel, so it wasn't a small one. One piece urethane, white in color. It was about 24" wider than the camper was, and overlapped the ends by a couple of feet too. There were 4 guys working on it, two fork lifts, etc. Spray glue under it, cut around the openings.

Just like any other roof, the less holes/seams the better chances that it won't leak.

If you want his number, I have it. That camper was only a few years old too..........

I actually meant insurance wise

The 3" of rain that we had 2 days ago finally made the local area reach the tipping point - yesterday I had overflow water coming into the pond from the neighbors pond. His pond dries out or winterkills every year (it's only about 3'-4' deep) so I don't worry about anything coming into my pond that I don't want. I normally throw FHM in there every year to control the mosquitoes.

This is the first time in 2 years that it's had enough water to do that. I'm a happy camper! My water is full of tannins now, and looks like Richmond Mills. They're calling for 20%-60% chance of rain every day for the next week, so hopefully we'll get more and the pond will be relatively full for the GTG.

2 days ago, a town that's about 30 miles away had 9" of rain in about one day. That's how localized the storms were.

Thats good news Scott.

What a difference for us this year vs. last year. The leak cannot keep up with the inflow, and this is the third time this year we have an outflow creek! Now I am glad we set up the spring-fed water fountain, it has been fun with swimming and spraying the kids.

Another 1.7" last night, and another big blob of rain on its way. Back to filling in the ravines in the driveway this year and complaining about the slugs eating up the veggie garden.

17" below full pool and the water is still coming in, albet slowly.

Glad to hear it Scott. Let's hope it keeps coming!

Unless we get more rain, the pond level stopped increasing at 14 3/4" below full pool.

I was thinking of you a couple days ago when we had a 20 minute or so downpour. The parking lot at work flooded pretty quick. One of our electricians told the boss that he should quickly sell the place as lake front property which would add few more zeros to the price.

The rain is keeping everything pretty much topped off around here.

Ok, this is opposite of last year at this time. 10-day forecast shows 60% chance of rain each and every day. Just got another quick 0.25" making it 6"+ of rain for June which is about 3" over normal. Pond has plenty of outflow right now!

I wish you could have some of this esshup! I would like to see the sun every now and then.

That's how averages are made. Its not normal to get the average...

More rain today!

Talking with my Dad today, he's gonna have another sump pit installed in the basement on the other end. The one, even with two pumps is not keeping up. The house even has foundation drains around the perimeter. They noticed the water coming in thru the seams and edges in the floor on the other end. This is the worst it has ever been. The foundation is about 6' down.

I'm tempted to dig another hole next weekend to see what's going on out back.

Going to prison is not on my list of life's accomplishments either.

I'll sweeten the thing up, and all will be cool

I left the house at 6:30 a.m. and returned at 9:00 p.m. Rain gauge said 1" for today, and it started to rain after I walked in the door. I'm going to grab a flashlight and go look at the pond.

Who said we pondmeisters aren't crazy?

Pond is now at 48.5", approximately 14" below full pool.

I resemble that crazy remark, but have a serious pond problem!

Based on my Dad's basement flooding, the water table seems to be to it's normal self, or even better!

My theory on where the GW went due to the excavation is probably totally incorrect!!! If it were true, then my Dad's basement would be dry. Most likely it was caused by the drought every one else experienced.

My Dad's house was built in 2001, and every year except the past two, the sump pumps have been running continuously.

The very first test hole I dug went about 4' down and it filled up to about 18" below ground surface. Luna and Coco use to swim in it, then things started to dry up. Went deeper and still dry. Got bummed and was looking for a culprit. Everyone said, never put a full basement in the area unless you want to keep pumping it. Before the excavator who dug my Dad's basement died, he said he did go too deep with it for the area.

I'll have to re-investigate the front pond due to erroneous thinking on my part as to where the GW went. The excavation into the natural drain area (USGS info) sure did coincide with the GW drying up.

Sump pumps are stupid animals. I'll have to investigate what is really going on in my Dad's basement. I doubt he needs a second sump pit tho.

On two occasions, we've had a 5 1/2 downpour--both after I just finished planting. Needless to say, I have some severe erosion damage. Just south of me, the town received 9 inches in a very short time. We market farm 5 acres and have pretty much lost everything. I am growing some nice algae in the fields though. Surprisingly, our berries have done exceptionally well, but we lost all our early peaches in 2 days to brown rot. It's futile to try to spray them because it rains almost every day. Last year, the drought pretty much wiped us out, but we did manage some crops. This year may be worse as we had no spring crops as well. I do have a massive amount of stuff started for the fall though.

I am looking toward the fall also. Nothing on your scale, but none the less, possibly productive!

Pond rose 1 1/2" overnight so now it's about 13" below full pool. Lots of Tannins came in, so the water is your typical brown tannin color now.

Unfortunately, I don't think the hypolimnetic aeration system is large enough. The trout aren't happy - I had about 15 morts in the past 2 days.

Hypo... what?


Best get fishing them out and ready for the smoker! Just don't take a quick nap while they are in the heat

Since I wrote last, another 0.5 inches. It was beautiful today though, ending with a sun shower. Wish I didn't have to work tomorrow, all day today was church and entertaining my little guy. No time for gardens or pond. Some serious cattail removal needs to be started.

Today was my first day back to work after 4 days of Boy Scout camp with my oldest son (7).. He had a blast it was a good time I relized its time for new equipment, definately a tent I can fully stand up in, no more air matress I'm buying one of those comfortable suspended floating super comfortable cots I seem some other dads with lol , a better tent fan other than that everything was golden considering it was mid 90's the whole time..

My wife and I actually took a bed and frame with us on our last camping trip! That was when we had a van. The dog loved it too riding on top of it in the van and in the tent also. Damn dog refused to sleep on the floor! We thought people would stare at us as we unloaded a bed in the tent but no one took interest.

Most comfortable camping trip I've been on. Only disappointing thing was the 100 kids running around yelling and screaming after dark at our last campground in Vermont. I told the wife we were leaving in the morning and we did. I'll never go back to that campground!

Sorry to hear about the trout.

I hope you get to full pool! That was be awesome!

I never going camping/vacation/trip anywhere without a pair of earplugs.. Seriously sleep like a rock with them in..

Good idea!

Gotta run, but couldn't take O2 readings yesterday due to the rain and visiting friends/family. Had another 5/8" yesterday, pond is now 8"-10" from full pool. The pond is starting to look like it should look now.

Found some more dead trout, 2 dead BG, 3 dead YP and 1 dead tagged LMB (#51) that was about 3#. Can only think the influx of water is the cause. I'll bet the pond water volume about doubled in the past 2 weeks.

Am I concerned about the dead fish? Well, I wish the trout would have made it, but there are still a few that I can see in the pond - one reason that I stocked Golden RBT - easier to see in the water. As for the others, I just figure that it's Mother Nature taking out the weakest. I'm not worried, as the amount of dead fish is miniscule compared to the amount of live fish in the pond.

I'll take O2 and temp readings when I get back.

When we camped a lot, we tried to find the remotest spot possible. However, our last few experiences were pretty bad w/all the noise and kids running around till dawn. It doesn't seem matter where I go that every idiot on the lake will hunt me down. I've always wanted some kind of hand grenade for jet skiers--or perhaps some kind of quick-set mine layout. The last time at one campground, a tent full of pathetically white wannabe rappers "got down" till 5 in the morning. Of course, I got up early to fish. About the time I figured they were asleep, I pulled my boat over in front of their tent, fired up the motor, and let her rip. Didn't have a bit of trouble after that.

As for sleeping in a tent, I bought an oversized cot from Cabelas that I call Goliath, and it works better than anything else imaginable.

Wow sorry to hear about the dead fish. At least it's not too many. It would be interesting to see what differences there are with the incoming water vs. the previous water as in Ph.

8 to 10 more inches to full pool! I hope this keeps up for you. Rain in the forecast for the next several days.

Given natural mortality rates in fish and their reproductive capacity a small % loss is not a big deal. It does make your stomach jump when you first see them dead.