#'(LAMBDA NIL NIL)

This is not as high as we were expecting, and the reason seems to be the freak blizzard that hit us on Wednesday, and froze everything again. Water flows into the river slowed to a crawl, and the crest was much lower than anticipated.

Hopefully, the cold will hold long enough to let the excess water flush itself out. However, this is what the National Weather Service had to say in its latest bulletin:

COLD TEMPERATURES HAVE TEMPORARILY SLOWED OVERLAND RUNOFF SOUTH OF
FARGO...RESULTING IN A LOWER THAN EXPECTED PEAK FLOW. ALTHOUGH RIVER
LEVELS HAVE STABILIZED MANY FACTORS REMAIN PRESENT THAT COULD
POTENTIALLY CAUSE ADDITIONAL RISES OF ONE HALF TO ONE FOOT AT FARGO.
IT IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR STAGES TO FLUCTUATE IN LARGE FLOODS OF THIS
MAGNITUDE. THE RISK OF ADDITIONAL FLOODING IN THE AREA WILL REMAIN
VERY HIGH FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

So, we're still keeping an eye out. As long as levels remain below 43 feet, I'm fine. Despite being two blocks from the river, I'm on high ground. Still, I have my bug-out bag packed and ready, and can grab the cats and leave at any time if I have to.

Still...never thought I'd say it, but thank God for that blizzard!

Many of you are probably worried, so here's the scoop: the cities of Fargo and Moorhead have, for the past week, been mobilizing a record number of volunteers and resources to build dikes, dams, levees, and other protections against the oncoming flood of the Red River. The latest work completed built dikes sufficient to protect against the expected crest of 41 feet.

The latest update from the National Weather Service, however, raised the projected crest to 42 or even 43 feet. To give you an idea, the previous record level for a flood in the Fargo-Moorhead area is 40.1 feet, in 1897.

So, they're still out there. Where I live, next to the Clay County Courthouse, is high ground, and the courthouse will not be allowed to flood. They've turned an entire street into an emergency dike, and they're adding to the existing ones to protect against the new expected crest. But the crest is expected within 36 hours. Oh, and did I mention that it's also snowed 8 inches and is below freezing?

I am not expecting to have to leave. But, just in case, I have a bug-out bag ready, and my cat carrier is at hand for kitty evacuation. If I have to go, I will take my lappie with me and try to update you from my new location. Again, not expecting to need to do this, just covering all bases.

The volunteer efforts in the cities have been amazing: I have seen sandbaggers, food carriers, machines, National Guard troops, and police EVERYWHERE. Sandbags and dirt dikes have been going up all over the place, and almost all bridges are closed. Traffic is, as you might expect, quite snarled. But, the people are out and doing what needs to be done, in record numbers. Latest word is that they continue to have too many volunteers.

Just one thing comes to mind: what with all the building of dikes, placing of dikes, reinforcing of dikes, and other dependence on dikes to save this city...when it's all over, Minnesota and North Dakota had damn well better allow gay marriage.