Rough weather in Oklahoma

[oldbike54]

 Mandatory evacuation for everyone in Coffeyville KS . No idea where 10,000 people are gonna go , it won't be South Coffeyville Oklahoma 

 Smithswede , hopefully they can save the Dalton Defenders museum .

 Dusty

[JC85]

Mandatory evacuation for everyone in Coffeyville KS . No idea where 10,000 people are gonna go , it won't be South Coffeyville Oklahoma 

 Smithswede , hopefully they can save the Dalton Defenders museum .

 Dusty

My dad's girlfriend is from Coffeyville, and apparently, this was only for certain parts of town near the river.

[oldbike54]

My dad's girlfriend is from Coffeyville, and apparently, this was only for certain parts of town near the river.

 That really makes more sense , was just going by an emergency message crawler .

 Dusty

[Zoom Zoom]

The stuff showing up on national news from that area is pretty astounding. Many more words I could use to describe it. Anyway I hope everyone being either directly or indirectly affected by all this has gotten to a safe or safer area.

John Henry

[rocker59]

The major flooding is now in Arkansas.  Three of four highway bridges over The Arkansas River at Fort Smith are now closed.  US-64, US-71, and I-540.  The fourth (AR-59) will probably close today or tonight.  The only access to the city will be from the south, as it's now cut off on the three other sides.

The AR-23 bridge at Ozark is closed.

Flooding on The Arkansas covers the distance from Wichita Kansas to Little Rock Arkansas, and includes tributaries Canadian River and Cimarron River.  Pretty massive.

[oldbike54]

 This is the worst flooding since the dam system was built .

 Just had a conversation with two *bond recovery* guys who live in Locust Grove OK , they said it is bad all of the way from Muskogee to the Kansas border .

 Oh , no they weren't coming for me  Really a couple of funny guys , although tangling with them would be a mistake 

 Dusty

[JC85]

The dam at John Redmond Reservoire in SEK has been running wide open for three weeks, and levels have barely dropped. That, combined with all of the additional rain, has cause flooding all over the place, around here, from the Neosho River. There were no northern or eastern routes out of Chanute that weren't underwater, yesterday.

[LowRyter]

The major flooding is now in Arkansas.  Three of four highway bridges over The Arkansas River at Fort Smith are now closed.  US-64, US-71, and I-540.  The fourth (AR-59) will probably close today or tonight.  The only access to the city will be from the south, as it's now cut off on the three other sides.

The AR-23 bridge at Ozark is closed.

Flooding on The Arkansas covers the distance from Wichita Kansas to Little Rock Arkansas, and includes tributaries Canadian River and Cimarron River.  Pretty massive.

What do yo think about the rally in Harrison this weekend?  Too early to tell?

[PJPR01]

You prefer flooding to rain?    Conditions there look dire, sounds like you'd have to skirt pretty far south and then come back up north...what's the weather forecast on the tail end of the trip too...going to be riding back in a squall?

I hate to see you guys in this situation, it's beginning to look too similar to Hurricane Harvey from 2 years ago here in Houston...

[bobrebos]

My wife is a bicyclists and is scheduled to be on a bicycle tour starting around June 8th I think.  Starts in Hugo Oklahoma, and end in Sedan, Kansas.  Hope weather is OK by then for her.    Hmmmmmmm?????

[oldbike54]

You prefer flooding to rain?    Conditions there look dire, sounds like you'd have to skirt pretty far south and then come back up north...what's the weather forecast on the tail end of the trip too...going to be riding back in a squall?

I hate to see you guys in this situation, it's beginning to look too similar to Hurricane Harvey from 2 years ago here in Houston...

 Dollar wise it might be more devastating , so far no experts have even made a projection what this will cost , likely in the billions .

 Dusty

[oldbike54]

My wife is a bicyclists and is scheduled to be on a bicycle tour starting around June 8th I think.  Starts in Hugo Oklahoma, and end in Sedan, Kansas.  Hope weather is OK by then for her.    Hmmmmmmm?????

 We are expecting more rain , storms likely . Unless she has webbed feet ...

 Dusty

[rocker59]

What do yo think about the rally in Harrison this weekend?  Too early to tell?

Won't be a problem, up in The Hills.  I'd stay out of The Arkansas River Valley, though.  The AR-109 bridge at Morrison Bluff, south of Clarksville, will be at risk of being closed.  The AR-23 bridge at Ozark will probably still be closed.

Harrison is 1100 feet elevation, and the fun roads go up to 2200 feet.  Clarksville, along The Arkansas River, is at about 370 feet elevation and Russellville is at about 350,  so you can see that all of the good riding will be above the flooding along The Arkansas River.

If all your riding is north of The Arkansas River, you won't even know that all the flooding is going on.

[LowRyter]

Won't be a problem, up in The Hills.  I'd stay out of The Arkansas River Valley, though.  The AR-109 bridge at Morrison Bluff, south of Clarksville, will be at risk of being closed.  The AR-23 bridge at Ozark will probably still be closed.

Harrison is 1100 feet elevation, and the fun roads go up to 2200 feet.  Clarksville, along The Arkansas River, is at about 370 feet elevation and Russellville is at about 350,  so you can see that all of the good riding will be above the flooding along The Arkansas River.

If all your riding is north of The Arkansas River, you won't even know that all the flooding is going on.

Thanks Mike, I suppose I shouldn't risk going through Tahlequah. 

[bobrebos]

We are expecting more rain , storms likely . Unless she has webbed feet ...

 Dusty

LOL.  She says they are going through these towns.....Hugo, Clayton, Wilburton, Warner, Okemah, Drumright, Pawhuska, and Sedan....?????

[rocker59]

Thanks Mike, I suppose I should risk going through Tahlequah.

The US-62 bridge is closed at Muskogee.  I wouldn't go that way.

Pretty much every bridge between Coweta and Fort Smith is closed.

You're going to be limited to these crossings of The Arkansas:   

- I-44 and I-244 in Tulsa,
- I-40 at Webbers Falls,
- US-59 south of Sallisaw.

You could run I-40 from Edmond to Sallisaw, then grab US-59 north to Stilwell or Westville, then turn right into Arkansas.

[PJPR01]

LOL.  She says they are going through these towns.....Hugo, Clayton, Wilburton, Warner, Okemah, Drumright, Pawhuska, and Sedan....?????

She's just a stones throw from Cedar Vale at the end there, just a few miles down the road. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

She's just a stones throw from Cedar Vale at the end there, just a few miles down the road.

Yep, I took the AeroLario to Sedan to get premium. I was a little leery of getting premium in Cedar Vale.  It's maybe 20 miles.

[oldbike54]

She's just a stones throw from Cedar Vale at the end there, just a few miles down the road.

 Yep

 

Yep, I took the AeroLario to Sedan to get premium. I was a little leery of getting premium in Cedar Vale.  It's maybe 20 miles.

 Speaking of Cedar Vale , the mayor and Emily at city hall have both called checking on us down here . They are like family to us 

 Dusty

[Zoom Zoom]

I see on the news that a levee has given way near Little Rock and they say two more are in danger. Man this is getting worse rather than better. I'm thinking of all those who are having to deal with all this.

John Henry

[ohiorider]

What a mess, weather wise, in the Mid West and South West.  And here we are in NE Ohio complaining that our yards are saturated and that the grass is growing too fast!  I hope for all of you who are experiencing being 'under water' that you're able to dry out and recover, and soon.  I cannot believe some of the pix I've seen of towns I've ridden through over the past 15 - 20 years. 

Bob

[krglorioso]

Dusty: I hope the "Red Mile" flat track races manage to run tomorrow.  Postponed a day already, ditto Springfield Twins last weekend.  I'll be glued to the set.  I hope no adverse effects from any of the weather conditions are affecting you.

ralph

[oldbike54]

 Three rain outs in a row would cause many of us to have withdrawal symptoms , right Ralph ?

 Fine up here on the hill , but the low areas are still under water .

 Dusty

[wirespokes]

Whatever happened with the dam/barge fiasco? Damn trashed? No bridges destroyed?

[oldbike54]

 The barges are both laying underw, there ater against the Webbers Fall lock and dam . Waiting on the water to recede . Funny thing is a plan costing 7.4 million dollars to sink a barge in the Mississippi river to divert flood water into an alternate channel , which seems silly , us Okies can show them how to do it for almost nothing 

 Dusty

[wirespokes]

After all that, the barges sank anyway? So they crashed into the dam, water flooded over them, and there they are?

How would you Okies handle the situation on the Mississippi? Why would sinking a barge cost 7.4 mil?

[oldbike54]

After all that, the barges sank anyway? So they crashed into the dam, water flooded over them, and there they are?

How would you Okies handle the situation on the Mississippi? Why would sinking a barge cost 7.4 mil?

 Yep , they are turned sideways against the dam , underwater .

 We would probably just cut a large hole with a torch , river barges aren't made from really thick metal , think motorcycle fuel tank .

 Dusty

 

[rocker59]

After all that, the barges sank anyway? So they crashed into the dam, water flooded over them, and there they are?

How would you Okies handle the situation on the Mississippi? Why would sinking a barge cost 7.4 mil?

US Army Corps of Engineers.  It's not an "Okie" or and "Arky" thing.   The feds handle transportation on The Rivers.  Not the locals.