Cable News Network reports
The bottom dropped out over northern Texas and Oklahoma overnight [May 23/24]. Rainfall broke records and river banks, and killed a firefighter early Sunday, as emergency crews scrambled to pull residents from floodwaters.
With more rain falling, the torrents have already pushed Oklahoma City handily past a rain record and rescuers have carried out at least 48 high-water rescues.
By late Saturday, 3.15 inches had drenched the city, bringing the total for the month to 17.61 inches. "It ... shatters the all-time monthly record of 14.66 inches set in June of 1989," said CNN weather producer Sean Morris.
[...] In Wichita Falls, Texas, [...] "Predictions from the National Weather Service indicate that significant flooding along the Wichita River is very likely", the town's emergency management agency said. "The National Weather Service is calling this an 'historic' flood event."
[...] Wichita Falls is having the rainiest May ever recorded there and "could set an all-time record for rainiest month ever recorded there," CNN's Morris said.
[...] In addition to the worst-hit areas, flood watches and warnings reached from the Texas and western Louisiana Gulf coasts up through eastern Kansas and western Missouri.
[...] Despite the heavy rain, western Oklahoma and parts of the Texas Panhandle and central Texas are still facing moderate drought or abnormally dry conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
[Editor's Comment: Original Submission]
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by mendax on Wednesday May 27 2015, @01:55AM
Comcast and Time Warner, two very evil companies, wanted to merge to become another Great Satan. Fortunately, the DOJ of the original Great Satan did something apparently honest and rational for a change and decided to step in, essentially killing the deal. Now, Charter and Time Warner want to create another incestuous corporate marriage and create a slightly less worrisome evil corporation.
I've never been a Time Warner or Comcast company but I have been a Charter cable and Internet customer before Wave bought up their business in my area. Let me say that Charter's customer service was borderline acceptable at the time I was their customer but the quality of their cable and Internet service was at times beyond awful, and it didn't get any better with Wave. The worst was a three-day Internet outage because of some failed hardware in a vault on my street. However, they were the only guys in town at the time with high-speed Internet service and so I was doomed to pay for their slow "high speed" Internet and awful analog cable service. So, I don't see how a merger of Charter and Time Warner will improve things.
Incidentally, we now have more competition here today. I subscribe to ATT's Uverse service and it's pretty decent for the most part and their customer service has been excellent. The Internet is fast and mostly reliable with little hiccups here and there but the kind we all expect. Wave is still here and I get some junk mail from them at least once a week. However, I won't ever patronize them again unless ATT's service gets a lot worse.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:06AM
(Score: 5, Funny) by Tork on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:36AM
I think you wanted to post to the previous story, not this one.
I dunno about that. I mean there are plenty of unintended consequences of letting two cable giants merge, I don't mind hanging this one on them.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1) by kurenai.tsubasa on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:39AM
I think the article you meant to reply to was about Charter. I have Charter service, and I've been quite satisfied. They seem to have an “lol wut” attitude to DMCA letters. I'm a little disturbed they're merging with Time-Warner.
(Score: 3, Funny) by mendax on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:42AM
And I am an idiot for not noticing that I posted this to the wrong thread. Never mind. I'm going to find an asbestos blanket to hide under.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: -1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:12AM
I want the real submission. Don't make me click again. If I wanted to read the editorial pages; I'd get the Sunday post.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:50AM
Is that you want? The virtually identical content? Poor you
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @05:10AM
-1 insightful, how's that work?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @05:35AM
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:55PM
That's why I suggested that SN should display every mod, not just the sum and one of the labels.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @04:48PM
"+5, Troll" is easier to get than that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @04:52PM
+5, Troll. My life now has a target.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:18AM
The REAL problem with the rain is, the ground is so dry, the water runs off instead of soaking in. Especially clay areas. The clay is just baked, and nonporous. If the rain had just fallen over a six week period, the clay would have slowly soaked it up, and much of that water would have been saved into the water table.
Maybe we'll get lucky, and have a few more moderate rains before summer starts drying it all out again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:59AM
Texas is part of the "Great American Desert", as it was named when discovered by Europeans, or now simply known as the plain states, from North Dakota all the way into Texas. It is a naturally very dry region where things are tough to grow. Anything else should be considered an unnatural and unsustainable human-induced condition.
(Score: 4, Informative) by captain normal on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:27AM
Texas is a very big state. the western part of it is indeed part of "Great American Desert". Many of the parts of it that are getting the most rain recently are usually quite lush. The north eastern part of Texas, around the Red River (Where Wichita Falls is) is part of the Mississippi River basin. most of the eastern and south eastern part of the state is part of the Sabine River and Neches River Basins and, near the coast, are swampy. The middle of the state until around the "Hill Country" (West of Austin and San Antonio) drains into the Colorado River. This is all very lush farm land.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts"- --Daniel Patrick Moynihan--
(Score: 4, Informative) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:43PM
I35 is a good dividing line. It runs along the eastern edge of the hill country. East of I35 is the coastal plains, much of which is farmland. West of I35 to the panhandle it's hilly, drier weather, and rockier soil, in many places too rocky to farm even where there is enough water. There's still some farming but it's patchy, and most of the land is used for ranching.
Halfway into the panhandle is the Llano Estacado, one of the the largest mesas in the world, and the headwaters (such as they are-- the stream beds are dry most of the time on top) of the Red River. There is much irrigated cotton farming in the eastern parts of the Llano Estacado. Don't know how sustainable that is. The farmers have drawn the aquifers there down a long ways over the years. The Wichita River is a tributary of the Red, starting in the lower lands just east of the Llano Estacado, may drain a tiny bit of its eastern edge. It's semiarid country, ill equipped to handle a lot of rain all at once.
(Score: 3, Informative) by wantkitteh on Wednesday May 27 2015, @06:13AM
Probably taking half the top soil with it as it goes. Saw this on TV yesterday, s'not good :(
(Score: 5, Informative) by Hawkwind on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:53AM
Governments started to declare El Nino over a month ago. Projection is the central plains are going to be fully replenished by the end of this and the US/Canada west coast is hosed (along with Australia).
Cheers
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:42AM
Here in Colorado, we've had Seattle's weather all Spring.
(Score: 2) by meisterister on Wednesday May 27 2015, @10:12PM
+1
I can vouch for this.
(May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Wednesday May 27 2015, @04:14AM
As much the Abbot (or any other Australian) government would want otherwise, an El Nino is likely to result in a drier Australia [wikipedia.org]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @05:33AM
You realize you are agreeing with the OP, right?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday May 27 2015, @05:37AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Wednesday May 27 2015, @08:14AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gravis on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:14PM
Governments started to declare El Nino over a month ago.
any predictions on when will they finish declaring El Nino? (^‿^)
(Score: 2) by Hawkwind on Thursday May 28 2015, @04:25AM
Interesting question, when I first saw an "official" statement in the Australian press I figured that was that yet the U.S. held off. I'm guessing different standards in different countries but I'd like to know the details why.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Fluffeh on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:10AM
Just an update on the story. There are now over 30 people deceased from this event:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/26/us/texas-oklahoma-louisiana-flooding-severe-weather-blog/ [cnn.com]
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:16AM
They did pray for rain a couple of years back, I guess god was just busy.
(Score: 3, Touché) by captain normal on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:29AM
You just need to be careful what you pray for. You just might get it.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts"- --Daniel Patrick Moynihan--
(Score: 5, Touché) by Tork on Wednesday May 27 2015, @05:24AM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:00PM
Well at least it gave you a chance to be a bigot.
(Score: 4, Funny) by panachocala on Wednesday May 27 2015, @06:47PM
Gov Perry needs to call off the prayer warriors asap.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:59PM
So, how many seconds before the first idiot gets on Fox News to affirm this proves global warming is a hoax?
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday May 27 2015, @04:17PM
You can point them to the 1,000+ dead people due to the ongoing heat wave in India if you are willing to fight anecdote with anecdote.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @04:44PM
First they have to blame the flooding on Obama.
(Score: 2) by mr_mischief on Wednesday May 27 2015, @05:39PM
Austin's had neighborhoods washed away. Houston's had cars covered over their roofs in low-lying roadways. The other night there were wind-driven waves over the center median of my street in Houston, and we were not the hardest hit.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday May 27 2015, @06:43PM
http://rt.com/usa/262429-texas-dam-breach-floods/ [rt.com]
I was watching news about the above dam early this morning. They were saying that the dam may give way in an hour or two at about 6AM. It still hasn't quite given way as far as I know. I'm used to a few Strong / Severe Thunderstorms, but we have been getting a stream of them. It hasn't had a chance to dry off in between them. Hopefully my blackberries like being mostly drowned.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"