There's A Storm Coming, Part 2
Saturday, September 1st kicked off 2018 Labor Day weekend. With most of Northern Illinois starting to show signs of extreme drought from nearly two months of little-to-no rain and high temps, the promise of rain and cooler temps in the forecast was a welcome relief. Labor Day weekend usually features the first of the very rare night operations at Illinois Railway Museum, one of only two such opportunities throughout the year. The rain was predicted to begin at approximately 930pm, just as night ops were to finish for the night. So, a full day at IRM ensued, and everything went as predicted. Almost.
The storms began to develop about 7pm, and initially were hit or miss. But once the system got going, it ended up being STRONGER than predicted. They fed off the hot, humid, stagnant air, producing prodigious amounts of embedded cloud-to-cloud lightning. The front that had just days before plagued Central Wisconsin and caused extreme flooding in La Crosse and Madison also moved south and fed the storms. By morning, IRM and vicinity had received over 8" of rain, which caused flooding on the tracks and the temporary closure of the museum the next day.
But this was just the beginning. On September 2nd, IRM saw an additional 5" of rain, and by Labor Day September 3rd, an additional 3" of rain fell. This time, the museum had to close for the next couple of days because the trackage was entirely flooded. But it kept raining! By the end of the week, the area saw close to 21" of rain. Needless to say, by Showcase Weekend two weeks later, it was a mosquito haven.
With the first round of storms nearly upon the museum, IRM's iconic 100-year-old steam star, Frisco 1630, fires up for her final trip of the night. Not even a minute after 1630 left, the heavens opened up with a total deluge, forcing those of us hanging around until the bitter end to seek shelter in the nearest barns. Those who did not jump from barn to barn remained trapped for the next 20-30 minutes until the rain let up enough that we could all make our ways to the parking lot.
There's A Storm Coming, Part 2
Saturday, September 1st kicked off 2018 Labor Day weekend. With most of Northern Illinois starting to show signs of extreme drought from nearly two months of little-to-no rain and high temps, the promise of rain and cooler temps in the forecast was a welcome relief. Labor Day weekend usually features the first of the very rare night operations at Illinois Railway Museum, one of only two such opportunities throughout the year. The rain was predicted to begin at approximately 930pm, just as night ops were to finish for the night. So, a full day at IRM ensued, and everything went as predicted. Almost.
The storms began to develop about 7pm, and initially were hit or miss. But once the system got going, it ended up being STRONGER than predicted. They fed off the hot, humid, stagnant air, producing prodigious amounts of embedded cloud-to-cloud lightning. The front that had just days before plagued Central Wisconsin and caused extreme flooding in La Crosse and Madison also moved south and fed the storms. By morning, IRM and vicinity had received over 8" of rain, which caused flooding on the tracks and the temporary closure of the museum the next day.
But this was just the beginning. On September 2nd, IRM saw an additional 5" of rain, and by Labor Day September 3rd, an additional 3" of rain fell. This time, the museum had to close for the next couple of days because the trackage was entirely flooded. But it kept raining! By the end of the week, the area saw close to 21" of rain. Needless to say, by Showcase Weekend two weeks later, it was a mosquito haven.
With the first round of storms nearly upon the museum, IRM's iconic 100-year-old steam star, Frisco 1630, fires up for her final trip of the night. Not even a minute after 1630 left, the heavens opened up with a total deluge, forcing those of us hanging around until the bitter end to seek shelter in the nearest barns. Those who did not jump from barn to barn remained trapped for the next 20-30 minutes until the rain let up enough that we could all make our ways to the parking lot.