Update on Valdosta flooding and honeymoon: stage 1

Yesterday, you know, on my very busy day back to work after using up my vacation time with the wonderful honeymoon... there were 4 tornado reports within 50-100 miles of my location, in Sylvester, Fitzgerald, Baxley and Donald, GA. I watched the cell in question as it raced across the southern part of the state, maintaining an excellent radar presence, all along the way. Arm-chair chasing can be fun, but one of these days... You can click on the graphic above for the full-report.

Explaining the Dewvoid: The Dewvoid is a made-up word, which was created by my storm chasing friends. As a storm chaser, it is necessary for there to be severe weather, which to chase. Unfortunately, there never seems to be any chase-able weather where I am, even when expected, or if there is severe (chase-able) weather, I am not able or in a position to be able to chase it (as was the case yesterday). My nickname is Dewdrop. Where I am is usually devoid of weather... hence, DEWVOID.


I want to share with you some pictures taken by my friend Haley Hyatt, as she explored one of the hardest hit areas during the flood in Valdosta last week. She actually took these shots after the flood had crested (and started to recede), and you can see where water lines are established about 4-6 feet above where the water level sits in these shots. There is a road under all that water.Businesses to the left and right of this shot were consumed by flood waters. The road remained closed for much of the period.Sludge left in the road after the water has receded some.Note the water line, a mere inches from the roof. This home has been destroyed.Thank you, Haley, for kindly offering permission for me to share these drammatic captures of a quite historic event. Historic indeed... I have heard that local officials are suggesting that this might exceed not just the 100 year, not the just the 500-year, but it might actually be a 1 in 700-year flood event. FEMA is currently working on re-drawing the flood plain, unless they have already finished. Amazing... devastating... a truly traumatic event for all those impacted. For local information about the Lowndes County, Georgia flooding, contact 229.671.2400. Unfortunately, water rise is expected once again, as a result of a drenching rain received here and especially to our north yesterday. Let's hope and pray that things stay manageable, which is the expectation at this time. We needed the rain, sadly though... not that much, that fast. Thanks to my friend, Melissa, for the rain data from CoCoRaHS!

Onto a happier subject though... It's time for the description of stage one of our honeymoon. We stayed at a charming Bed & Breakfast in Dahlonega with an amazing sunset view of the mountains. The breakfasts, the view and the wonderful care offered by our kind hostess, made it an incredible stay. We LOVED it! We spent our full day hiking around the area, going to a highly recommended waterfall (imagine that) which was co-located with an Army Ranger training base. As we drove through a rumbling creek (which was safe to cross and was actually included in the directions as part of the road we were traveling on), we passed a fleet of soldiers gearing up for departure on one of two helicopters. I don't know if it was an exercise or an actual deployment, but it was cool to say the least. We hiked the mountain-side to an amazing falls... the falls at West Fork on Montgomery Creek (I've linked it to Jack Anthony's picture of the same falls). When the falls came visible through the trees,... we knew that we had no choice but to climb down for a better view, despite the less-than-perfect-for-the-climb-shoes I was wearing.It was well worth it, and as always with us... a great adventure. Later, we climbed up Cooper Gap, wishing we had some of those hiker poles... we're only slightly out-of-shape... cough, cough, but came across this approximately 5' black racer, sunning himself on a downed tree along the way. The view was spectacular, but hazy, so the pictures didn't really come out very well.Basically, our Dahlonega segment was about relaxing by the fire and just enjoying the magnificent scenery.

I'll cover stage 2 tomorrow.

There have been 3 tornado reports on the western central peninsula of Florida today.

Have a fabulous day.
~Dewdrop