When Spring of 2012 arrived, we had a steady decrease in rainfall and we approached drought conditions. In fact, Lancaster County, Pa. had placed a "Burn Ban" on anyone burning materials on their property due to the lack of moisture.
Then came the Spring 2012 Showers. We had rain for several days last week and then we had a beautiful Mothers Day weekend. Well, Sunday evening arrived and the showers moved back in once again. This morning, we even had a beautiful thunderstorm roll by our home in Willow Street, Pa.
According to WGAL Weatherman, Joe Calhoun, the rains will continue through tomorrow with the possibility of more storms towards tomorrow evening. I love thunderstorms and lightening. The air temperature will also be rising as the week progresses. We may even see temperatures rise into the low-80s by the end of the week!
As you know, the PFBC placed about 98 miles of the Susquehanna River on a "Closed Bass" season from May 1 through June 15. The one saving grace for me has been the rain and plenty of it. When the weather changes, my left knee aches so much and I pick up on the use of my pain medication. The rain has also kept us off the river because of the rising water and the dirty conditions...
When we used to kayak fish, we would never go on the Susquehanna River once it passed the 5' mark. We considered that to be the point when the river started to become dangerous with a faster flow and rising waters. Not that you couldn't be on the river, it was just not a nice experience at all!
As you can see by the chart above, the river will be rising above 7' by Thursday. It will then take about a week or so to calm down and drop back into a safer level for boating and fishing.
We still have 31 more days until we can enter the Susquehanna River in that currently closed 98 mile stretch. But the rains have made it a bit more bearable for us all... Keep the rain coming, build up the water levels, and give the soil a good start for growing the produce that Lancaster County is so famous for!
Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad
p.s. I just checked the NOAA Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pa. gauge and it has jumped to 9.5' by Friday! That is over a projected two foot jump since I posted this report this morning. I tried to take a snapshot of the gauge like I did earlier, but for some reason Photobucket has a problem with the pic.
