During the first half of Good Morning Quad Cities, I caught myself complaining about how miserable the weather this weekend. I was volunteering for an event in Rockford and found myself enduring 36 degree temperatures with sideways rain. And of course, I forgot my coat!
Today will be somewhat improved, but it's still not going to be ideal. Temperatures will likely top out in the low 50s with more showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Not a great day. In fact, the "Eric Factor" is a 2.
But it's not zero. And that's the amount of hope many folks have after severe thunderstorms produced deadly tornadoes in East Texas and thousands of square miles of Missouri and Arkansas are under flood warnings. And it's not just that there is high water, many roads and bridges will be found washed-away after the water recedes. Interstate 44 has been closed between St. Louis and Springfield due to high water. And several people are dead after driving on flooded roads.
This is the flood forecast for Cape Girardeau, Missouri where the Mississippi River could near all-time record highs. The river was at its highest on January 2, 2016. Number two was the "Great Flood of 1993." And this one could be similar to that, threatening millions of acres of farmland and lapping up over levees and flood walls.
So, while our weather really does make us complain, we really shouldn't. Let's focus on the perspective that our lives will continue rather unscathed this week. And for most of us, we will be able to enjoy the sun-filled sixties in the forecast this weekend while funerals and relief efforts begin in the Mid-South.
-Meteorologist Eric Sorensen
