Water from the sky and all over the landscape

Some serious rain was supposed to move in here before lunchtime on Tuesday, so I tried to get down to the river as early as I could so I could get my paddling in ahead of it.  With the temperature at 37 degrees Fahrenheit, getting soaking wet was not an appealing idea.

Even without the rain, it was the sort of day where I wanted to get my session in the books and get back to the land of central heat as quickly as possible.  A bone-chilling north wind was blowing under overcast skies.  I stayed mostly in the northern half of the harbor, where protection from the wind is greatest.  I did several 8-stroke sprints, threw in a few surges, and basically just went through my paces.  By the time I was back in the car heading home it had warmed up all the way to 38 degrees.

The rest of Tuesday was indeed very rainy.  The rain had just about moved out when I woke up Wednesday morning, and yesterday began with sunny skies.  But the clouds were taking over by the time I got down to the river, and more rain was in the forecast.

The Mississippi River's big rise continues.  The crest, predicted for the middle of next week, has been revised upward to 39.5 feet on the Memphis gauge.  Clearly rain is falling higher up in the watershed as well as here.

I started yesterday's 60-minute paddle by warming up and doing three 8-stroke sprints.  Then I ferried across the Mississippi to check the flooding in the area between the Hernando DeSoto and Harahan Bridges.  It was mostly underwater with the river up to 35.9 feet, but I paddled carefully over just a small part of it, not wanting to break my boat or knock off my rudder on some object just below the surface.  I paddled by the tall mound of earth that's pictured in last week's photo feature, and it appeared that the picnic table is no longer there.

The rain was back by yesterday afternoon and is expected to continue through tomorrow.  Today my schedule consists of predominately indoor activities, including strength work.  I did the strength routine Monday, Wednesday, and today.


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