Disaster areas

Good Saturday afternoon to you as I write this….

Unless you’re not a resident of the southeastern US or other areas that have been affected by our recent bout of insane weather, you probably know that we’re seeing a LOT of rain throughout most of Kentucky at present.  Like more than a month’s worth since Wednesday night.  Weather then was so severe that we received a tornado warning, although it turned out that the tornadic activity was about sixty miles south of our home area.

But before you decide that the worst is behind us, consider this….Kentucky’s governor announced yesterday on social media that as of this morning there were 390 road closures throughout the state.  I know of a couple.

Yesterday I headed out to make some marketing calls in a couple of smaller communities south of Lexington.  Along the way I had to attend two conference calls that occur every Friday.  Following the second, I went about my plan and visited two offices and called a friend who lives a little further south.  He lives approximately eight miles to the south of where I was, and it’s right on a main highway, a US highway that carries a lot of traffic.

About halfway to meet my friend for lunch I started seeing signs indicating a road closure ahead, and I dismissed it, thinking that I was on relatively high ground.  Drove two more miles to see that the highway I mentioned was closed ahead and that barriers had been installed to keep people from driving into what I eventually learned was pretty high water.

I asked my phone for an alternate route and it took me down a series of rural roads.  Drove a bit and encountered a small bridge that was stacked with limbs and other natural debris.  Looked to each side and saw high, rushing water.  There was someone driving a tractor and cleaning the bridge, so I thought I was in good shape to continue my detour.  A few miles later I drove over a small hill to encounter a line of about eight cars and trucks and a bridge ahead with water a full five feet over its natural level!

So I carefully turned around, let my phone GPS redirect me, called my friend and we agreed to meet in a different place that we could reach safely.

The TV weather people are right when they say when one encounters high water to “turn around, and don’t drown!”  I kept hearing that in my head during this little misadventure!

Right now it’s not raining here but likely to start again sometime soon!