gradual thaw

With spring’s arrival, flood concerns rise

With spring’s arrival, flood concerns rise

I’m staring out my window into a snow drift almost to the eaves. Near-record accumulation and continued freezing temperatures are raising fears of widespread spring flooding, something we haven’t experienced in several years. Rather, we’ve lately become more familiar with the unpredictable flooding caused by extreme rain events. That’s the bad news. But last summer’s widespread drought severely depleted soil moisture, which means there’s a very large capacity to absorb excess runoff; and another dry spring could have spelled disaster for farmers. The good news is, with a gradual thaw and not much spring rain, our farmers could be in good shape heading into the growing season.