Keep a Weather Eye on the Horizon



One of my favorite lines from Pirates of the Caribbean. And very good advice for anyone, but especially for those living close to nature and far from emergency help. Or vacationing here. Between my father with his survival training, training as a pilot, and living and working in an area surrounded by mountains and forests I am probably more alert to my surroundings than the average. And that is before adding the photographer part.

 All that is probably also why I have never bonded with my cell phone, which is an antiquated flip phone with no bells and whistles. And I cannot see me ever getting a smart phone. Frankly, they are dumb, because if you are zoned in on taking that selfie you are unaware of the cliff behind you. Or the smoke filling the horizon, or the massive thunderhead building uphill on the trail you are following.


Setting off for a slot canyon hike south of Kodachrome State Park in Utah my sister and I were busy strapping on camera bags and clipping on water bottles when we noticed the top of a thunderhead just over the sandstone ridge where we would soon be following a path at its base. We reversed our preparations at great haste. Tossed cameras and water back in the vehicle and set out for pavement. We got off the slick rock (which turns to mud when rain is added) just as the first huge drops of rain began to fall.

 Yesterday I stood on my deck and photographed the clouds in the photo above when the first drops hit the deck. Within ten minutes I had gotten the first half inch of rain. I received a total of an inch and a half in less than an hour, and received a "back call" from emergency services instructing all Ute Park Residents to shelter in place due to the flooding. I don't live in Ute Park. They are downhill and down stream from me.



I don't know if the clouds which rained on me rained on Ute Park as they moved along. It isn't necessary for the rain to fall where you are. Anywhere up hill from you can also cause flooding. And if you live in the mountains there is a lot of uphill to consider. And a lot of downhill to be concerned about. Ute Park is on a massive burn scar from the Ute Park Fire. Without trees and bushes to hold back the water and soil flash floods are a fact of life during monsoon season.

 The key word in Flash Flood Warning is flash. A British internet friend asked me how long it took for my land to absorb this water in the picture above and I responded that it moved too fast for me to know. The water is on its route to the stream which runs through the back part of my property downhill from my house. And from there it goes in the Coyote Creek and into the Mora Watershed. Mora is surrounded by a lot of mountains. It may or may not have gotten rain but it got water. I do know the temporary stream above was gone within an hour of the rain quitting.  

 Put the smart phone in your pocket and keep a weather eye on the horizon.

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