Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Storms

I keep reading about some of you guys with hurricane and other storm problems. Huge rains around the Gulf Coast and in the Northeast are something some of us can only fantasize about. In 6 or 8 years since I put in a couple of one acre ponds, they have overflowed only once. We just don't get flushing rains.

Weather patterns have certainly changed.We used to see tropical storms hit the Texas coast and send rains North. The D/FW metroplex is 8 inches behind for the year. My land in Montague County theoretically should get 22 inches of rainfall per year. However, that is averaging over many years. With the exception of 2004, I don't believe we have had over 17 inches for a long time. I was talking to a rancher the other day who said he measures time by referring back to the time when it used to rain. But, I can't complain. We still get a goodly amount of sunshine.

Dave,

Just to make you feel good...I think I told this story to Theo and he croaked on it, so feel free.

In East Texas we are just the opposite. Several years ago, we had a tropical storm come through that deposited (officially) 48 inches in 24 hours in Alvin. Alvin is just a few miles from my house in Clear Lake. 48 inches in 24 hours. Also, just a few years ago, we got 35 inches of rain from another tropical storm over a three day period on my East Texas ponds. Heck, Rita "only" gave us about 10 inches. You've never seen rain like the rain associated with these storms. Its unbelievable how much falls in such a short time period.

Dave my wife thinks I have lost my mind watching the weather channel fantasizing obout rain. It seems like its only a dream that it rained last year. If only we could get an inch of rain much less a tropical storm dumping ten inches Mr. Meadowlark. Many of the ponds near me have gone totally dry with no relief in sight.

James,

I know this doesn't help you feel any better, but that 10 inches really didn't do much for the ponds, not nearly as much as you would think. The ground was so dry and every nook and cranny that held water was also dry so that the 10 inches did little more than replenish that moisture shortfall. My ponds only came up about a foot, whereas normally you would see 3 or 4 foot or at least 2 foot rise from that kind of rain.

I've never worried about lack of rain in East Texas before but I am now...if this trend continues through the fall and winter, watch out next summer. All the ponds may be in trouble.

In northern Oklahoma, we aren't necessarily short of rain, just how it has come. My first couple of years here we got a couple of storms that were well over 3-5 inches at a time. My big pond drains well over 100 acres, but that is after it flows through a couple of smaller ponds. Once everything upstream is running over, then the big pond gets a good fill. Lately we have been lucky to get one storm all year that was over 2 inches, but we have had several that dropped an inch, half an inch, and so on. Just when things upstream start to overflow, rain stops. Good thing I didn't get tilapia this year, I don't know if my smaller pond could have handled it.